Trillium Gift of Life Network, the government agency responsible for organ and tissue donation and transplant, has developed a new metric to measure Ontario hospitals’ performance in organ donation: the eligible approach rate.
A hospital’s eligible approach rate measures the number of families approached to discuss the potential of organ donation for their loved one against the total number of cases where donation was a possibility, and a family could have been approached. This new hospital donation performance metric was developed to increase opportunities for Trillium Gift of Life Network to approach families about donation.
“Trillium Gift of Life Network is dedicated to ensuring that when donation is an option, families have the opportunity to consider giving the gift of life,” said Ronnie Gavsie, President and CEO, Trillium Gift of Life Network. “Families often tell us that donation brought them comfort in their grief. We must ensure that the choice to save lives is made available to all families of potential donors.”
Ontario is the only province to publicly report on hospital performance in organ and tissue donation. This practice has contributed to higher donation rates, making Ontario the leader in Canada.
From April 1 – June 30, 2018, 55 Ontario hospital corporations collectively achieved an eligible approach rate of 82 per cent. A hospital’s eligible approach rate is affected by a variety of factors, including the extent to which hospitals have donation policies to facilitate timely referrals to Trillium Gift of Life Network.
Since 2013, Trillium Gift of Life Network has reported on two other performance indicators: routine notification rate and conversion rate.
Routine notification rate measures the frequency at which hospitals notify Trillium Gift of Life Network of a patient death or imminent death. Without this critical first step, precious life-saving opportunities are lost. From April 1 – June 30, 2018, 69 designated hospital corporations in Ontario collectively achieved a 96 per cent routine notification rate.
Conversion rate measures the percentage of potential organ donors that became actual organ donors. During the same reporting period, 55 designated hospitals corporations together achieved an average of 60 per cent conversion rate.
Quick facts
- Only two to three per cent of hospital deaths occur in circumstances that permit organ donation.
- Donation performance data including eligible approach rate, routine notification rate and conversation rate, by hospital, is available at www.giftoflife.on.ca/en/publicreporting.htm.
- One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 more through tissue donation.
- Register or learn more about donation at www.BeADonor.ca.
