The Donation Process
Every family is unique in its needs and concerns when a loved one has died, and offering individualized support to families is the first priority for SETA’s Family Support Service Coordinators. Our coordinators have been carefully selected for their compassion and sensitivity to each family’s needs, and are trained to conduct the screening process in accordance with industry standards and federal and state regulations and procedures. Regardless of whether a family chooses to donate, our coordinators are there to help connect them with grief support from a wide range of resources, including hospice organizations, support hotlines, books, web sites and more.
How donation works
Notification. A hospital, funeral home or medical examiner notifies Family Support Services of a death and/or a family’s wish to donate. If the potential donor meets medical criteria, the family is approached and offered the option of tissue donation. The screening process is designed to both ensure that potential donors are carefully evaluated for medical suitability and that families are fully supported as they cope with their loss.
Informed consent. Family Support Services staff is always available to receive incoming calls, screen potential donors, obtain informed consent and assist donor families. This is done in coordination with funeral homes, medical examiners’ offices and hospitals, whose nurses call SETA’s Family Support Services to report a death. The coordinator determines if the deceased’s tissue is suitable for donation based upon a brief medical history supplied by the nurse, who also provides us the contact information for a family member of the deceased.
Recovery. After notification and consent, coordination begins between the site of recovery, Family Support Services and the recovery staff, which will only recover tissues for which consent has been granted. Because a donor must be recovered within 24 hours of death, time is critical. A local recovery manager carefully coordinates and expedites the process with the hospital, funeral home and/or medical examiner and determines the recovery location, which may be a hospital OR, morgue, medical examiners’ facility or funeral home, where a sterile field can be created.
After recovery. The donor’s body is carefully prepared in order to maintain anatomical correctness and symmetry, helping ensure donation does not interfere with the family’s funeral plans for open casket services. Donation should not delay funeral arrangements or increase costs to the family.
