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.

In 2003, Michigan hospitals — in partnership with Gift of Life Michigan, Ann Arbor — began participating in MHA Keystone: Gift of Life, using evidence-based best-practice approaches to the organ donation processes. Since 2004, Michigan and its hospitals have steadily 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 include improving the number of eligible donors that result in donation (i.e., the “conversion rate”) and increasing the number of organs transplanted per donor. Donated organs and other tissues include kidneys, pancreases, hearts, lungs, livers, intestines, heart valves, veins, tendons, bones and corneas.

The project aligns with U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) goals through a national collaborative effort, allowing hospitals to maximize their efforts in both the HRSA and MHA Keystone Center collaboratives. The 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 2009, 288 Michigan organ donors contributed 864 transplanted organs. Michigan’s organ donation conversion rate was 82 percent, up from 77 percent in 2008 and well above the national standard of 75 percent. Further, Michigan facilitated 59 donations after cardiac death (third most in the nation) and averaged three organs transplanted per donor in 2009. Among standard criteria donors,¹ Michigan averaged 4.03 organs transplanted per donor, fifth highest in the nation.

In addition, improved lung recruitment, or preservation, techniques made it possible to transplant 122 lungs from Michigan donors in 2009. That was the second highest of any state in the nation. Gift of Life Michigan also reached a new monthly record for tissue donors in July 2010 for facilitating 112 tissue donations.

In April 2010, as part of a national effort to raise awareness for organ donation during Donate Life month, Michigan hospitals received Donate Life flags to display throughout their campuses, and a number of hospitals also conducted ceremonies to honor organ donors and their families.

Additionally, Michigan hospitals have been instrumental in promoting Donor Drive 2010, a statewide campaign to boost the number of citizens signing up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.

As part of this campaign, Michigan hospitals have been asked to achieve a goal of adding one name to the registry for every two employees, resulting in 100,000 new registrants as a direct outcome of hospitals’ efforts. Through July, more than 7,000 people who joined the donor registry cited a hospital as their impetus. In comparison, 3,800 people in all of 2009 mentioned a hospital when signing up. Donor Drive 2010 is a collaborative campaign of MHA Keystone: Gift of Life, Gift of Life Michigan and the Michigan Eye-Bank. Statewide, donor registrations were up almost 30 percent through July, compared with the same period last year. Since 2003, the number of people on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry has grown from 482,000 to nearly 2 million as of September 2010.

Amidst these lifesaving campaigns, the collaborative and hospitals continue to further educate staff on organ donation practices. The MHA Keystone Center and Gift of Life Michigan held a full-day workshop for the MHA Keystone: Gift of Life collaborative teams in May 2010. More than 300 participants attended the workshop, which focused on the importance of physician leadership in improving organ transplantation outcomes.

In July 2010, MHA Keystone: Gift of Life and member hospitals were honored with a national Flags Across America award for their work on Donor Drive 2010 and ongoing use of Donate Life flags to increase awareness of the lifesaving value of organ donations.

In addition, 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. Michigan hospitals have won medals every year since the award was first presented in 2005. In 2010, 21 Michigan hospitals received medals of honor: Bay Regional Medical Center, Bay City; Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak; Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo; Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo; Covenant HealthCare, Saginaw; Genesys Regional Medical Center, Grand Blanc; Henry Ford Health System, Detroit; Henry Ford Macomb Hospitals, Clinton Township; Marquette General Health System; McLaren Regional Medical Center, Flint; Metro Health Hospital, Wyoming; Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center; Northern Michigan Regional Hospital, Petoskey; Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center–Dearborn; POH Regional Medical Center, Pontiac; Providence Hospital Medical Center, Southfield; Sparrow Hospital, Lansing; Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids; St. John Hospital & Medical Center, Detroit; St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor; 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 in Michigan through monthly conference calls, annual workshops, and a website that supports participants with education and shared best practices.

¹A standard criteria donor has reached brain death, is under age 60 and has no extraordinary health history.