Every day, more than 100,000 people are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. Every nine minutes another person is added to the waiting list. Of those waiting, 17 people die each day because the organs they need are not donated in time.

Through the collaboration of the PRH Emergency Services team and UW’s Organ and Tissue Donation Center, two of those lives were saved through organ donation in 2023.

“Our day with this patient began with a call from registration alerting us of a patient who was unresponsive and needed assistance getting out of a vehicle,” said Mitch Osterhaus, RN, Emergency Services at PRH. “We brought the patient back to the ER to begin her care.”

“We got vital signs right away and started working on getting both an IV and then intubated her,” said Britnee Walker, RN, Emergency Services at PRH. “We then took a CT scan.”

“When the head CT came back, it was clear that there was a large intercranial bleed, which in this patient’s case, was an irreversible cause of death,” said Mitch.

Michael Lutes, MD, Emergency Medicine and Nick Junk, RN, PRH House Supervisor, recognized that the patient could be an organ donor and directed the team to contact the UW Health Organ and Tissue Donation Services. The team connected with Kyle Oksiuta, Donation Support Specialist at UW-Health Organ and Tissue Donation.

“We were very fortunate to work with Kyle, the representative from the UW’s organ procurement team, and he, from all accounts, did a fantastic job of situating the family at the center of these conversations about organ donation,” said Mitch. “He did so in a way that was very understandable and very sensitive to the raw emotions of the family’s situation.”

“From the moment I walked in, everyone from the registrars to the physicians (at PRH) were super nice and receptive. It was a pinnacle experience for me to see such support from everyone at the hospital,” said Kyle. “Studies show that loved ones are more likely to say yes to organ donation because of the care they received. The conversation with this family went so easily because of the care they felt. My job was really easy that day, because the staff was phenomenal, and the family was phenomenal.”

Britnee, who was also a close friend of the family, stayed with the family throughout the patient’s care. “Kyle talked with the family about the possibility of organ donation, and they felt it was the right thing to do, so we continued with the process,” said Britnee. “From registration to our physician to our nursing staff, medical imaging, lab, and respiratory therapist, all of them together is what made everything go well.”

“One of the things that our team here at Prairie Ridge does really well is putting the patient and their family first, within all of our care decisions and conversations,” said Mitch. “In this case, we were very lucky that we had Brittnee on that day. I think we’re very lucky here in Columbus to have a hospital equipped with the resources and the caring hearts that make these difficult moments ideally into ones with silver linings for the family.”

“Because of her, we know that two lives were saved,” said Britnee.

According to UW Health Organ and Tissue Donation, more than 42,000 organ transplants from 21,300 donors brought new life to patients and their families in 2022.

What can you do to increase organ, eye and tissue donation in your community? Register your decision to be a donor at heroicdeed.com Tell your family and friends about your decision to Donate Life. Ask others to visit heroicdeed.com to learn more and register.