In this episode it is my pleasure to talk with Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation, Rory Collier. We explore communication skills, and you will hear Rory’s expert talk through a framework to improve practice. You  will also hear the difference between brain and circulatory death - and how these different pathways are managed with skill and compassion.

Key messages

• Rory discusses  Advance Care Planning with a focus on organ donation

• The role of Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation (SNOD)  role in organ donation, including family support, logistics, and follow-up is explored.

• Discussion of the rarity of being an organ donor and national statistics on donation rates.

• Rory provides an overview of national guidance and regulations 

• We discuss the opt-in/opt-out (deemed consent) law in England and the importance of communicating your decision to loved ones.

• Rory explains the two main donation pathways: donation after brain death (DBD) and donation after circulatory death (DCD).

• There is emphasis on compassionate communication with families, including frameworks for breaking bad news and supporting emotions.

• The importance of the “moment of honor” in theaters before organ retrieval is shared.

• Ongoing support for donor families after donation, including ceremonies and follow-up letters.

• The emotional and logistical challenges for professionals and the support systems in place.

• Rory’s message:  thoughtfully consider organ donation, register your decision, and inform your loved ones.

Resource

• Websites:

  • www.organdonation.nhs.uk

  • www.odt.nhs.uk

  • www.nhsbt.nhs.uk

• National Guidance:

  • NICE Guidelines 2011

  • General Medical Council : Guidance on End of Life Care

  • 2011 UK Donation Ethics Framework

• NHS Blood and Transplant Press/Media 01923367600

  • pressoffice@nhsbt.nhs.uk

  • brand.communications@nhsbt.nhs.uk

  • Twitter/Instagram = @NHSBT @NHSorgandonor

• Organ Donation:

  • Hope and transition after an unexpected death with Vicki Caldwell, mother of organ donor Fi

  • Organ donation with Dr Radha Sundaram 

    
    

Bio

I trained as a Nurse at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent qualifying in 2001. I worked on a trauma and Orthopaedic ward at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital before moving to London in 2003 to work in Intensive Care at University College London Hospitals. In 2012 I Moved to Oxford to become a Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation (SNOD) at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

My role is varied but primarily I work in Intensive Care Units across the South-Central region ( Northampton to Southampton and even out to the Isle of Wight) where I provide the End of life option of Organ Donation and support families who’s loved ones are dying in a position where they could potentially donate their organs.