UPHS – Marquette one of hospitals honored by UW Organ and Tissue Donation for maximizing the gift of life

UP Health System – Marquette is one of 23 hospitals that are being honored by University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation (UW OTD) for their ongoing commitment to saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation.

The UW OTD Award of Hope recognizes the comprehensive work of hospitals that achieve or exceed the goals of two important measures that maximize the gift of life: the true conversion rate (TCR), which measures the percent of medically eligible donors that become actual donors; and organs transplanted per donor (OTPD), which measures the average number of organs recovered from each donor. Hospitals earn a gold, silver or bronze award depending on an OTPD of 3.25 (bronze), a true conversion rate of at least 75 percent (silver), or meeting both metrics (gold).

The Excellence in Tissue Donation award is given to Versiti partner hospitals who achieve at least a 60 percent consent rate.  This metric measures the collaborative work between the hospital staff and tissue bank in coordinating communication around tissue consent conversations.

The Family Care Award recognizes the comprehensive work of one hospital each year that exemplifies the highest standards of family support during an organ donation case.  In order to be eligible for the award, a hospital must demonstrate consistent innovative family support practices, and have at least one outstanding case example of those practices in action from the previous calendar year. 

The Donn Dexter Physician Excellence Award recognizes the comprehensive work of one physician exemplifying the highest standards of donation support. To be eligible for the award, a physician must provide care within the UW OTD donation service area, demonstrate consistently supportive medical donation practices, as well as advocate on behalf of organ donor patients and families. This individual is recognized within the healthcare team as a leader and key resource in championing donation causes and overcoming challenges in the donation process.

“The clinical management of donors, coupled with a hospital’s compassionate support of donor families, is a critical component to saving lives through the gift of organ donation and transplantation,” said Michael Anderson, executive director of UW OTD. “We honor these hospitals and their incredible physicians and nursing teams for working so hard to help ensure that those who are waiting for a transplant will get a second chance at life.”
  

   The 2019 award winners include the following institutions and provider:

UW OTD is a federally designated organ procurement organization serving 108 hospitals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.