Checklist for tissue donor examination
The examination of a donor for tissue donation must be done carefully. This physical inspection is more thorough than that for determining death. View the points of attention.
Check with every donor
- What is the height and weight?The reported values are not always correct. Therefore, check the patient file or make an accurate estimate yourself.
- Does the donor have an extremely distended abdomen?That can hinder prone positioning, making a donation procedure impossible to perform.
- Are there (surgical) scars?Determine the cause of each scar, for example by reviewing the medical file. The scars may indicate a contraindication. For instance, a joint prosthesis can be a contraindication for bone donation, or a scar on the chest may indicate heart surgery.
- Tattoos on legs or back?Then discuss with the family how to handle this when making incisions in the skin.
Check the skin
For a skin donor, you also check these characteristics:
- Do you see many irregularities, such as seborrheic keratoses and moles on the legs and back?Then skin donation cannot proceed.
- Can you count the ribs?Then the donor is too thin and skin harvesting cannot proceed.
- Is the quality of the skin good?In the case of thin skin / prednisone skin, skin donation cannot proceed. This refers to skin that is fragile and easily damaged.
- Is there evidence of fluid overload?Excessive edema in the harvest area (legs and back) is a contraindication for skin donation.
Tip! Tissue donation e-learning
Proper inspection is also covered in the Tissue Donation from the Hospital e-learning. The e-learning provides a complete overview of tissue donation.