With tens of thousands of lives hanging in the balance, getting the word out about the importance of organ donations is a never-ending and critically important job, according to Tracy Moore, CEO and executive director of Donate Life South Carolina.
“Right now, 120 thousand Americans are waiting on the list for a transplant,” said Moore. “In South Carolina, impressively, over 2.6 million people have said they are willing to donate and have ‘yes’ noted on their driver’s licenses, but less than 1% of those people meet criteria – by way of death. They can donate sight and tissue but not major organs.”
The push to raise awareness and the number of organ donations continues; at the same time, hospital and business partnerships are opening miraculously efficient paths for transplants and organ sources as well.
Kingstree, South Carolina, resident Norman McGill’s heart transplant story is perhaps the best example of the unique way donations occur.
In October 2023, McGill’s heart was barely beating, despite multiple forms of intervention. In medical terms, he was in persistent end-stage heart failure, and he had ventricular tachycardia, which can be a fatal arrhythmia. He was being supported with a mechanical pump, but, even with that help, he was in desperate need of a transplant.
McGill spent two months in the hospital waiting for a miracle that arrived when a team of cardiothoracic surgeons at the Medical University of South Carolina, led by Dr. Arman Kilic, made history. They transplanted into McGill the first heart in the Palmetto State obtained by donation after circulatory death.
Traditionally, organ donors have no neurological function; they are considered “brain dead.” However, organs from DCD donors are available after a patient meets the criteria for circulatory death once life-sustaining assistance stops. The decision to donate is sometimes difficult for families, but an increasing number of people are opting to give back as DCD donors.
MUSC is one of only 20 hospitals nationwide that works with DCD donors.
Using DCD organs can avoid some of the negative effects of brain death on donor organ quality, Dr. Kilic explained.
“Organ donation is always a miracle,” said Moore. “DCD donors, like all donors, including living donors, open up the chance to save many more lives.”
To pull off McGill’s miracle, Dr. Kilic and his team partnered with TransMedics, a medical device company that created a machine that keeps organs functional and healthy during their journey from donor to recipient.
“I knew they were making history,” said McGill’s mother, Lillie. “They showed me a picture of the heart beating in a little suitcase.”
“The little suitcase” Lillie referenced aptly describes TransMedics’ ex vivo perfusion system. It looks like a clear, tube-infused suitcase that cradles the donor heart.
The TransMedics’ ex vivo perfusion system is designed to mimic the human body, which likely contributes to better organ function right away, Dr. Kilic explained. In addition, by keeping the organ perfused and warm, the machine allows more time to gain access to organs. With the traditional method of keeping a heart cooled on ice, the maximum safe travel time is around four hours, which limits the distance a donated organ can travel for transplantation.
But with the TransMedics system, donated hearts can come from much longer distances, and Dr. Kilic shared that some centers have successfully transplanted organs donated on one side of the country and transported to the other.
In an ideal world, Moore said, “Organ, eye and tissue donation would be viewed as a fundamental human responsibility.”
LEARN MORE …
About the transplant registry, organ procurement, tissue donations and donor family aftercare:
- Donate Life South Carolina
864-609-5270
tmoore@donatelifesc.org - Sharing HopeSC
843-763-7755
800-462-0755
800-269-9777 (Referral hotline)
BY THE NUMBERS – IN SOUTH CAROLINA
230 organ donor heroes in 2022
390 tissue donor heroes in 2022
612 organs transplanted in 2022
48,000 lives enhanced in 2022
Source: sharinghopesc.org
LICENSE PLATES BENEFIT DONATE LIFE SC
Make a meaningful impact on the lives of those waiting for lifesaving transplants by buying a Darlington Raceway and NASCAR license plate. Funds will help Donate Life South Carolina change lives and spread the message of hope and healing through organ, eye and tissue donation.
Information: scdmvonline.com
By Lisa Moody Breslin
