New RUSH Addition
On October the 9, Rush University Medical Center released a statement that they will open a new department that will focus on improving organ donation. RUSH Medical Center is partnering up with the Gift of Hope Organization to install a new organ donor care center inside the hospital.
The Gift of Hope Organ Donor Care Center will be the name of the new addition. The center will open in July 2024. The new hospital-based donor center will be located on the fifth floor. It is the first of its kind in Illinois. It is proposed to be a greater way to harvest and preserve the organs of deceased donors.
Furthermore, the new center will have six ICU bays, two operating rooms, and 24/7 medical and allied services in place. As well as have a family lounge room and support services for the family of the donors.
How It Will Operate
Since the new medical center is partnering with The Gift of Hope Organ Donor Network, RUSH will work with hospitals within the network’s areas in Illinois and northwest Indiana. Moreover, the deceased donors in these areas will be transported to the medical center for time-efficient and specialized donor management. Also, this helps the hospitals that are transporting bodies to free space up in operating rooms, ICU beds, ventilators, and critical care staff.
Lastly, the 24/7 availability of a donor care center can make the process for the family and loved ones of an organ donor faster to proceed with. However, by national ruling, the proximity to a donation doesn’t speed up the processing of someone on the donor-recipient list.
Dr. Omar Lateef, president and CEO of RUSH, said that they are proud to work with Gift of Hope. He stated they are proud to be “building on our long-standing work together and our priority on increasing organ and tissue donation and advancing equitable access to transplantation regionally and nationally.”
With more than seven million Illinois residents registered as donors yet less than 3% eligible to donate after death, hopefully, this new additional center can alleviate this.
Written by AriAnna Rathers
Sources:
FOX Chicago– Rush University Medical Center to open innovative organ donor care center
RUSH EDU– RUSH, Gift of Hope to Establish Organ Donor Care Center
WGN– Illinois’ first hospital-based donor care center to open in 2024
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of David Stillman’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of H. Michael Miley’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
