Documenti di Didattica
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Documenti di Cultura
Melissa Winn
Nursing 422
November 5, 2018
The process of organ donation is a very serious and thorough process. Organs are not
simply just donated and given to any patient that is in need. Rather, extensive testing and
matches are done in order to find the recipient the best possible match. This course of action is
not something that can be done by just one doctor. Instead, a team of skilled healthcare
professionals work together to match the donated organ with the right patient. Nurses are
involved in this process every step of the way and play a crucial role in the complex and detailed
The incidence of organ donation has greatly increased over the years, especially as a
better understanding of the procedures are being discovered and higher success rates are
occurring. Some of the most common transplants include organs and tissues such as heart, lung,
liver, kidney, cornea, bone marrow, and skin. The process of organ donation is something that is
very selective and not something that everyone is eligible to do. However, organ donation is
very beneficial, since many individuals would die without the donation of these vital organs.
Through the process of organ donation, whether the organ comes from a live donor or a deceased
donor, many more individuals are now able to live longer and healthier lives. One of the biggest
indicators of how successful the transplant will be is based on how closely the recipient was
An extensive amount of testing is done on the recipient, as well as on the donor before
any transplant ever occurs. Testing is done in order to match the recipient with the best possible
donor, as well as to know if the recipient and potential donor are eligible candidates for
transplantation. Patients that are obese and are smokers may not be eligible candidates for
donation. Chronic infection and untreated heart disease also restrict individuals from organ
transplant. Additionally, people with current psychosocial issues, such as alcoholism and drug
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addiction are also ineligible for transplantation. However, individuals with HIV and hepatitis B
or C are able to be transplant candidates (Lewis, Bucher, Heitkemper & Harding, 2017). All of
these tests and restrictions are put in place to ensure the greatest chance of the organ transplant
being a success. There are many individuals that are in need of a transplant, so screening is
The best possible match is found in order to decrease the possibility of the organ being
rejected. These tests include blood type, HLA typing, a panel of reactive antibodies, as well as a
crossmatch. These tests are preformed on not only the donor, but also the recipient (Lewis,
2017). Although the nurse will not actually preform these tests, the nurse plays a role in this
process. Since many different tests and procedures will occur throughout this donation, the nurse
must be able to explain to the patients and their families the tests that are being completed and
the reasoning for each test. Along with the many tests that are obtained in order to find the best
match, there are also additional tests which are used to determine the health of the recipient as
well as the donor. These tests include an ECG, a chest x-ray, and additional laboratory tests.
The nurse helps by not only explaining the purpose of each test to the patient, but also in making
sure the test is completed after the doctor has placed the order.
Throughout the entire donation experience, the nurse has the role of teaching everyone
involved. The process of donating an organ, as well as receiving a new organ can be very
overwhelming. This may be a new experience for all of the involved participants. Often times
the recipient as well as the donor do not know what to fully expect, and because of this, they will
likely have a great deal of questions and concerns. This process is more than just having a
surgery to remove an organ and a surgery to put the new organ in place. It is crucial for the
nurse to explain the steps involved in organ donation to the patient and explain what they should
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expect, such as symptoms of infection, as well as signs of rejection that should be reported. The
nurse must teach the donor and the recipient about the surgical procedure itself and what exactly
will happen during the surgery, as well as what they can expect during the postoperative period.
For example, a patient that has received a kidney transplant will spend between 12 and 24 hours
in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to the close level of monitoring that is required to ensure
proper health and organ function (Lewis et al., 2017). As the nurse appropriately teaches and
informs not only the recipient and the donor, but also the family of these individuals, the nurse
will be able to help ease the nerves and anxiety of these participants.
Many of these participants have spent a number of years on the transplant waiting list,
just hoping to receive the vital organ that they need. The journey that these patients face in order
to receive a new organ is one that is both emotionally and physically exhausting. Not only is the
road leading up to receiving the organ difficult, but now that these individuals have been
matched with a donor, they have a whole new list of fears and worries. Many recipients stress
over the surgical procedure, as well as wondering if the surgery will be a success. Organ
rejection and failure is a common fear amongst organ recipients. They have waited a very long
time, and the last thing that they want is for this surgery to be unsuccessful. Nurses need to care
for the patient, as well as the family in a calm and reassuring manner (Cebeci, Sucu &
Karazeybek, 2011). This could potentially be a very tense and emotional experience for the
patient as well as their family. As the nurse works with the patient, it is their duty to provide the
best possible care, and by doing so, help to ease the stress and worries of the patient and their
family members.
Throughout the entire process of organ donation, the nurse also has the crucial role of
caring for the patient physically. Before the transplant occurs, the transplant recipient needs to
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be monitored and assessed to ensure that they are eligible to receive this transplant and that their
body will accept this new organ. After the surgical procedure the patient needs to be closely
monitored and will likely spend time in the ICU for close observation. This new organ is foreign
to the recipient. Their body may want to reject this organ, as a way of trying to protect the body.
In order to decrease the likelihood of organ rejection, when a patient receives an organ
transplant, they are placed on immunosuppressive therapy. This therapy works to decrease the
response of the immune system (Lewis et al., 2017). However, because the immune system of
the patient is decreased, these individuals are at a greater risk for infection. As the nurse
monitors and cares for the patient, it is crucial that the nurse observes for signs of infection, such
as an elevated temperature. Laboratory values must also be monitored, as tests such as white
blood cell count (WBC) will also help to indicate an infection. If the nurse observes signs of
infection or organ rejection while monitoring the patient, the early detection can greatly impact
Through the use of organ donation, lives are able to be greatly changed. In September of
2014 the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) reported that over 123,000 people in the
United States alone were waiting for the transplant of an organ (Yoost & Crawford, 2016). This
is an astronomical number, that only continues to grow each year. There are more people that
are in need of organs than there are people able to give organs. Each day people die, because
they were unable to receive the organ that they needed in order to save their life. Organ donation
is such a powerful thing and can impact the lives of so many people. On average, one organ
donor can help save up to eight people, and many more through the use of tissue donation
(Donate Life, 2018). Personally, I believe that everyone should be an organ donor. After we die
we have absolutely no use for our organs. In my opinion, it is a waste for a healthy individual to
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be buried with their organs, when they could just as easily go to a handful of individuals that are
desperately in need. There is so much good that can come from organ donation and so many
Nurses play a critical role in the process of organ donation. The nurses have many
different responsibilities when it comes to the process of donation, whether they are working to
teach the patient and ease their fears, or help physically care for the patient before or after
surgery. Organ donation is a very difficult and thorough process. A successful organ donation is
done with the help of a skilled medical team. Nurses are an important asset to this team and help
References
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Cebeci, F., Sucu, G., Karazeybek, E. (2011). The roles of nurses to augment organ donation and
414.
Donate Life (2018). Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation Registration. Retrieved from
https://donatelife.net/
nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO:
Elsevier.
Yoost, B. L., & Crawford, L. R. (2016). Fundamentals of nursing: Active learning for