Funding Period: 04/01/03-03/31/04 Lifeline of Ohio Program: Decision Kit brochures about organ and tissue donation were developed for students attending driver education courses to complement the “Second Chances” video shown during the classes. Ohio House Bill 407 requires driver education classes to include donation information in their curriculum so students can make informed decisions when asked if they want to be a donor at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Grants from the Second Chance Trust Fund made the creation of these materials possible. Objectives: Produce educational resources about anatomical donations and distribute in all driver education classes to insure that a consistent donation message is shared, that the message is targeted to and appropriate for the teenage audience, and to empower students to make an educated decision about donation and discuss that decision with their parents. Results: The materials have been effective in educating Ohio’s youth about organ and tissue donation. For individuals under 18 years of age receiving a driver’s license or state identification card, the rates of registration in the Ohio Donor Registry are higher than any other age group and have increased from a low of 49.4% when no educational resources were in place, to a high of 58% when both the video and Decision Kit were being utilized.
Funding Period: 04/01/01-03/31/02 Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine The Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), a state affiliated medical school in Rootstown, and the Bioethics Network of Ohio (BENO), a state wide association of healthcare professionals interested in medical ethics, collaborated on the Second Chance Trust Fund/Ohio Department of Health (pilot) grant project: "Enhancing Public Appeal for Anatomical Donation: A Study of Core Concepts." This grant project examined the essential concepts used in appealing for anatomical donation and suggested additional and expanded effective themes for use with the public. That first phase established the basis for a second collaborative grant involving NEOUCOM and Kaiser Permanente of Ohio's Educational Theater Department: "Voluntary Anatomical Donation: Taking an Enhanced Message to Health Professionals and Students in College and Medical School" (currently in progress). Here we have taken the scholarly review and suggestions from the pilot project to create a new unique dramatic educational theater piece titled, "Unfinished Business." It is a thought provoking multicultural exploration of issues involved in the personal decision to become a donor and the need to share the decision with family. This play is being presented on three college and three medical school campuses along with donor testimonials, educational materials, and outreach staff from OPO's in the area. The performance and use of "Unfinished Business" is an effective educational tool. It has been enthusiastically received as a unique learning experience by both students and health care professionals. Audience evaluations indicate the play has significant emotional impact, is thought provoking, and changes attitudes. We now submit this third application titled, "Unfinished Business:" Increasing Voluntary Anatomical Donation Using Educational Theater to Promote Altruism and Compassion." It is based on our experience of strong favorable audience response to the play and our desire to use this valuable asset in new expanded ways to promote the consideration of donation by Ohio citizens. Funds are requested for fifteen performances of "Unfinished Business." These presentations will be done in collaboration with key organizations around the state of Ohio. First, we will seek opportunities for performances through organ procurement organizations in support of their community outreach and education programs. The play will enhance their programmatic offerings providing a new and unique medium for use with their audiences. The play can be used along with recipient testimonials, audience discussion, etc. Second, we will conduct several performances in collaboration with other organizations/institutions. We will select these presenters on the basis of their potential for impact on public/professional attitudes to increase the donor pool. Funds are requested for our collaborators to advertise and market the programs. These fifteen performances will also be a statewide public demonstration of the value of the Second Chance program and offer an opportunity to promote continued citizen support of its goals. In summary, this project targets the need to increase the supply of transplantable organs, eyes, and tissue. It uses a dramatic play as an effective educational tool. The value of the Second Chance Trust Fund will be demonstrated to the public resulting in continued support of the program. This project will have state-wide impact for increasing anatomical donation, creating a more compassionate citizenry, and ultimately providing needy Ohioans with a second chance.
This project will address the low donation/consent rates among African Americans and will be piloted locally through a partnership with Lifeline of Ohio and The Ohio State University Medical Center. Upon completion and testing of this investigative model, we hope to have an effective process identified that can be applied cross culturally which will positively impact cultural barriers that exist in minority populations regarding anatomical donation. We will collaborate with The Ohio State University Medical Center to develop a recruitment and training program aimed at preparing minority requestors to work with African American families whose loved ones meet preliminary criteria for organ/tissue donation. Recruitment for this role will be targeted in the local African American community. (Please refer to project methodology section.) By utilizing this model, we can provide minority families with the support of someone familiar with their culture when organ donation is an option. The Clinical Skills Education and Assessment Center at The Ohio State University Medical Center will be utilized to provide skills training by providing a venue for the requestors to practice approaching families for consent. The skills lab that will be used was previously developed through a grant from the Second Chance Trust Fund. Using a value-centered approach philosophy regarding donation, the requestors will participate in an all day training workshop targeted toward donation and effective approach methods as well as participating in three skills lab sessions. Once the recruitment and training phase of this project is completed, the next stage will be to implement the intervention. Four African American requestors will be recruited for this program with each person on call for one week each month. When a potential donor who meets minority criteria is identified, the requestor will be paged and, he/she will respond to the hospital to communicate with the staff regarding the family’s needs and provide support to the family. Once it has been determined that the patient meets criteria for organ donation, the requestor will continue to provide family support, and when appropriate, present the opportunity for donation to the family. Data will be maintained to measure the effectiveness of each approach. The goal of this program is to increase the rate of organ donation among the African American population by providing a means for effectively requesting consent to donate. We believe this project will support that goal and enable families to make a positive decision to donate. At the conclusion of this project, we will have a model for minority requestor recruitment, training and implementation which can be replicated statewide.
Funding Period: 04/01/03-03/31/04 University of Cincinnati Surgeons, Inc. The demand for donor kidneys for transplantation far outstrips the combined supply of cadaveric and living donor kidneys in the state of Ohio, and in the U. S. Moreover, the number of patients added to the waiting list each year is greater than the number transplanted, and the waiting list therefore continues to increase in size, with a concomitant increase in waiting times for those on the kidney transplant wait list. Despite considerable expenditure of financial and human resources in Ohio and in the U.S., the number of cadaveric donors has not increased over the past decade. In distinct contrast, the number of living kidney donors in Ohio and in the U.S. has increased considerably, in part due to the advent of the less invasive laparoscopic living donor operation. Despite these increases, the most common barrier that excludes a healthy potential living donor remains ABO blood group incompatibility and recipient immunity to HLA antigens of the donor (termed cross match incompatibility). It has been estimated that if ABO and cross match incompatibilities are overcome, the supply of living donor kidneys may be increased by as much as 25 – 30%. The proposed project will develop, implement, and evaluate an educational intervention as a complementary project to the Ohio Solid Organ Transplant Consortium Living Donor Kidney Exchange Program (OSOTC LDKEP). This educational program is designed to increase the number of living donor kidney transplants in the State of Ohio by educating transplant physicians, surgeons, coordinators, social workers and potential transplant recipients and donors regarding eligibility for the OSOTC LDKEP in order to prospectively increase identification of potential donor and recipient pairs for participation in the OSOTC LDKEP. The educational program will also address retrospective identification of potential living donor recipients who are currently on the cadaveric kidney transplant wait list with healthy living donors who cannot donate because of ABO or cross match incompatibility. The combination of prospective and retrospective identification of potential donor/recipient pairs for participation in the OSOTC LDKEP has considerable potential for decreasing demand for cadaveric donor kidneys, and thereby reducing waiting times. Each successful exchange therefore brings two kidneys to the donor kidney supply that would not otherwise have been available, and also prevents the addition of two recipients to the kidney transplant wait list, thereby avoiding increased waiting list times. Also, by increasing patient enrollment, the likelihood of finding a matching donor/recipient pair is increased, thereby allowing successful kidney transplantation, without increased immunosuppression.
Funding Period: 07/01/04-06/30/05 LifeBanc Introduction The organ supply for transplantation in the United States continues to exceed the overwhelming demand. The physician’s role in the organ donation process is critical but educating physicians about organ donation has proven to be difficult. Many times physicians lack sufficient knowledge about the organ donation process to adequately answer a family’s questions or concerns. Educating physicians early in their career may make physicians better prepared and positively impact donation outcomes. I carried out a study on medical students in Ohio from Case Western Reserve University, Medical College of Ohio, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Ohio State University and Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. I wanted to determine whether medical students have sufficient knowledge of organ donation related topics shown to affect organ donation rates. Methods First- and second-year medical students completed a self-administered questionnaire. I personally invited the students to participate in the study and described the background and rationale for the study. The questionnaire consisted of 41 questions covering topics associated with personal thoughts regarding organ donation; general knowledge; identifying possible donors; and sociodemographic information. Results 843 students received the questionnaire and 629 students (80%) responded. The mean age was 24 years and 51% were women. The personal knowledge rating of organ donation score was 4.1 with 10 being the highest possible amount of knowledge. 80% of the students indicated that they have designated themselves as organ donors on their drivers license and 99% of the student support organ donation. The average score on the 20 question knowledge section was 46%. There was no correlation between first-year knowledge and second-year knowledge. Conclusions Medical students have limited knowledge of organ donation and transplantation by their own admission and by our measures. This is concerning considering many of the students feel that physicians should discuss organ donation with their patients and should approach families about organ donation options. Medical educators should consider expanding and/or enhancing the incorporation of organ donation and transplantation into curricula. Educating medical students about the benefits of organ donation and the role of the physician in the organ donation could affect future donation rates.
