A Story of Giving
This is a story of how one person touched more than 20 lives, and spread the love of his family across North America. Although the persons and events in this story are fictitious, this is the process of giving life to others.
Injury
On September 14, 1995, Bill was a father of three girls in a country neighborhood outside of Houston. His career and family were the driving factor in Bill’s life as he worked as an accountant for a chain of auto parts stores. His day seemed normal except for the tension headache he was unable to shake. While in the yard, Bill fell to his knees and lost consciousness. His wife, Karen, ran to his side and told the oldest daughter to call an ambulance.
The Rescue
Paramedics arrived and a Life Flight Helicopter was called to rush Bill to Memorial Hermann Hospital. While in transit, the flight team tried to get Bill to respond but were unsuccessful. In one hour his condition became critical. He had stopped breathing on his own and was placed on a ventilator. A CAT scan revealed Bill was suffering from a brain tumor that was inoperable and had grown to encompass the pons, a structure of the brain that controls breathing and endocrine functions. Bill never spoke to Karen again. His body lay in the Intensive Care Unit, his heart beating, warm and lifelike.
Determination of Brain Death
Dr. David George, a neurologist in his second year of fellowship training with the University of Texas Health Science Center, was called to evaluate Bill’s condition. A radio-isotope scan revealed that Bill's brain function had ceased and he was pronounced brain dead, an irreversible consequence of his brain tumor. Before informing the family, Dr. George called in Joe Sharp, a paramedic and Organ Donor Coordinator with LifeGift, the regional organ procurement organization in Houston. After consulting with the LifeGift medical director, Bill was approved for potential organ donation. The hardest decision of Karen’s life was approaching.
Consent
Karen and Bill’s three daughters, Elizabeth, Jennifer and Melissa, were called into a meeting with Dr. George and Joe Sharp. Emotions were running high. Just hours earlier, Bill had been the father of three girls and a loving husband. Now Karen sat and waited to hear what the doctors had to say.
Karen was told that Bill’s condition was irreversible and that he was brain dead. After a period of mourning, LifeGift coordinator Joe Sharp approached Karen to ask if she had ever considered organ donation. Karen remembered Bill’s intention to donate his organs and tissue if the need ever arose. After a short discussion with the children, they agreed that organ donation was the best way to continue Bill’s spirit. Karen signed the paperwork and went to see Bill one last time. Although he looked alive, Karen knew that she would never be able to talk to him again.
Coordinator Takes Charge
Bill’s pertinent information was entered into the national waiting list as a donor of kidneys, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and small intestine. His blood type, weight and human leukocyte antigen factor, HLA, was taken into consideration along with the geographic location of the hospital where he was a patient. From there, the United Network of Organ Sharing (the governing body that holds the contract for placing and allocating organs for transplantation in the United States) computer database cross matched the blood type, weight, HLA, and location with a list of potential recipients. From there, the donation coordinator managed Bill’s heartbeat and blood pressure to keep his organs from deteriorating. Joe contacted all the regional organ procurement coordinators that, in turn, talked to their physicians and surgeons who oversaw the care of the potential recipients. The physicians accepted the condition of the donor. Coordinators from each city arranged for transportation to bring the potential recipients into the hospitals.
The Organ and Tissue Recovery
Upon arrival at the airport, ambulances took the organ recovery teams to Memorial Hermann Hospital where Bill’s body was handled with the same dignity and care any person undergoing surgery is afforded. He was draped and prepared for a standard surgical procedure. Upon removal and preservation of the organs, machines that had kept Bill’s body alive were removed. He then progressed to biological death. Tissue recovery teams picked up where the organ teams left off. Tissue Recovery Coordinators removed Bill’s corneas for transplantation, and skin and bone were recovered for transplantation into persons suffering from burns and orthopedic injuries.
The cycle of life continues now for people who were near death or severely injured. Because of Bill, they will regain their health. And with the miracle of organ transplantation, Bill lives on after he’s gone.
