MHA Keystone: Gift Of Life

Background: Each year, thousands of organ and tissue donations are needed to save lives and allow others an opportunity to improve their quality of life. Donated organs and other tissues include kidneys, pancreases, hearts, lungs, livers, intestines, heart valves, veins, tendons, bones and corneas.

Beginning in 2003, Michigan hospitals — in partnership with Gift of Life Michigan, Ann Arbor — began participating in MHA Keystone: Gift of Life. Since 2004, Michigan and its hospitals have continued to set records in organ and tissue donation and transplantation, contributing significantly to the saving of lives.

Goals of the MHA Keystone: Gift of Life collaborative are:

• Intervention 1: Improving referral rate — the actual number of eligible donors that are referred to evaluate for donation

• Intervention 2: Improving the efficiency of the organ donation request process

• Intervention 3: Increasing the conversion rate — the number of eligible donors that actually result in donation

• Intervention 4: Increasing the number of organs transplanted per donor

In 2007, the project was structured to align with U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) goals through a national collaborative effort. This alignment allowed hospitals to maximize their efforts in both the HRSA and MHA Keystone Center collaboratives. The three shared goals include 75 percent (or greater) conversion rate; 3.75 (or higher) organs transplanted per donor overall; and donation after cardiac death to account for 10 percent (or greater) of deceased donors.

Results: In 2008, a record 327 Michigan organ donors contributed a record 922 transplanted organs. Michigan exceeded the national standard with a conversion rate of 77 percent. Further, Michigan received 90 donations after cardiac death (more than any other state in the nation) and averaged nearly three organs transplanted per donor in 2008. That same year, 167,000 people joined the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, increasing Michigan’s total to more than 1.6 million registered donors.

In April 2009, as part of a national effort to raise awareness for organ donation during Donate Life month, more than 70 Donate Life flags were flown or displayed by hospitals statewide and a number of hospitals also conducted ceremonies to honor organ donors and their families. This event was sponsored and coordinated by MHA Keystone: Gift of Life, Gift of Life Michigan and the Michigan Eye-Bank.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services annually honors hospitals around the nation that achieve a 75 percent or higher organ donation rate by awarding bronze, silver or gold medals of honor. In 2009, one Michigan hospital received the esteemed gold medal and was the only hospital of its size nationwide to do so: Munson Medical Center, Traverse City. Munson Medical Center earned the gold medal by converting at least 75 percent of eligible deaths into organ donors and having a rate of 3.75 organs transplanted per donor. It also was able to maintain a 10 percent rate of organ recovery through donation after cardiac death, which is less common than more traditional donations.

In addition, the following Michigan hospitals were awarded silver medals of honor for converting at least 75 percent of eligible deaths into organ donors and achieving one of two other goals: Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak; Beaumont Hospital-Troy; Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo; Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo; Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, Clinton Twp.; Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center; Northern Michigan Regional Hospital, Petoskey; Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center, Dearborn; POH Regional Medical Center, Pontiac; Sinai-Grace Hospital, Detroit; Sparrow Hospital, Lansing; Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids; St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor; St. Mary Mercy Hospital, Livonia; and University of Michigan Hospitals & Health Centers, Ann Arbor.

Future: MHA Keystone: Gift of Life and Gift of Life Michigan continue to pursue ways to increase organ donation within Michigan through monthly conference calls, annual workshops, and a Web site that supports participants with education and shared best practices.