Timing is critical when facilitating organ transplantation. Unpredictable ambulance diversions, flight cancellations, and extreme weather can hamper efforts to bring life-saving organs to patients in need. The kidneys can survive for 24 to 36 hours outside the body when properly packaged, but the heart and lungs can only survive for 4 to 6 hours.
Tennessee Donor Services, a donation program designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, sometimes has to find creative ways to overcome barriers, whether it’s by transporting organs on flights commercial alternatives, charter a private jet, or hire an employee to drive cross-country.
“We have many different problems [challenges]Codey Tisdale, a Tennessee Donor Services first responder who moved into organ rehabilitation after working as a surgical technician, says what we’re struggling with… is timing.
More than 42,800 organ transplants occurred in the United States last year, according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, the nonprofit that manages the country’s organ transplant system. Several dozen people—including patients, families, clinicians, recovery teams, and couriers—participate in the end-to-end organ exchange.
“Coordination is truly an art,” said Jill Grandas, executive director of Tennessee Donor Services and a registered nurse.
