FAQ

Please refer to Adult Clinical Trigger or the Donor Manual (pg. 7) 

All the Registered Nurses are responsible for calling within 1 hour if any of the following patient criteria are met:

• Potential withdrawal of ventilator support
• Beginning discussions of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments
• Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 5 or less
• Assessment of the following:
  • Pupil fixed and dilated
  • No cough
  • No gag
  • No spontaneous respirations
  • No purposeful movement in response to painful stimuli

All Registered Nurses are to call the Coroner and OneLegacy within 1 hour:

• When the patient expires
• Regardless of unit / areas (i.e. OR, PACU, ICU, Acute / Intermediate Care, East Campus, Children's Hospital, Heart & Surgical Hospital, University Hospital)
• Even if previous call to OneLegacy has been made
• Even if patient has been previously "ruled out" as  a solid organ donor

The OneLegacy team. The OneLegacy coordinator will assess the family's readiness to be offered the opportunity of organ donation. The family must be given time to accept the hopelessness of the situation and understand brain death before the donation option is presented.

DCD is Donation after Cardiac Death. When a family, along with their Physician, have decided that the withdrawal of support is best for the patient, the opportunity for donation may be present. This is assessed on a case by case basis. All patients in which withdrawal of support is being discussed are to be referred to OneLegacy to be evaluated.

SCD and ECD are categories of Brain Dead Donors. These classifications are for transplant centers to determine if the donor suitability is compatible with their recipient. SCD is Standard Criteria Donor, while ECD is Extended Criteria Donor.

Contact Bodies for Science Office for more information. 

A Licensed Physician is to pronounce death within a reasonable time. 

The OneLegacy team can write orders on a Brain Dead Donor.