SD17 - Virginia Transplant Council (VTC) Strategic Plan


Executive Summary:
Purpose:

As required by Senate Joint Resolution 453 (1999), the Virginia Transplant Council (VTC) is to develop a strategic plan for increasing public awareness of the importance of organ donation, and for evaluating progress toward obtaining a greater number of organ donations from potential donors in the Commonwealth.

Findings:

The VTC affirms that citizens of Virginia were not fully aware of their opportunity to designate to be a donor; that accurate information regarding donation and transplantation needed to be provided to citizens for informed decision-making; a lack of inter-organizational trust existed within the VTC; that public opinion on donation seemed unclear and rules for guidelines for behavior were unknown; and that varying definitions of first-person consent negatively influence the procurement process.

Action Plan:

In an effort to amass the pending concerns as foreseen by the VTC, it has determined to create a Virginia Donor Registry that will provide easy access to donation intent recorded by DMV. This data would be accessible by the VTC to be used for recovery of organs and tissues and for information and education initiatives. The Joint Commission has offered this registry as a potential legislative option for the 2000 General Session.

VTC also will continue to target its education efforts toward youth to assist them in making an informed decision about donation. In concert with that specialized effort, the VTC will develop an effective internal and external public relations effort that promotes a "team" concept in the healthcare community, which will ultimately enhance the reputation of the VTC as an informational resource and center for donation and transplantation. VTC also will seek to establish a credible method of honoring the right of the donor through the consent process.

VTC hopes that through these united efforts the shortages of eyes, organs, and tissues will be reduced and/or eliminated, and that donation will be an expected behavior and part of the end-of-life decision-making process. With these initiatives in place, the VTC hopes that the Commonwealth of Virginia will position itself as a recognized leader in increasing organ, tissue and eye donation, resulting in increased access to quality transplantation services and shorter waiting times.