Ubuntu Initiative
Improving Donation Rates
Currently there are no formal referral systems in the state hospital sector to facilitate tissue donation after death. We believe that Greys hospital provides the ideal platform for a pilot project which has the potential to transform donor awareness and donor numbers across all population groups in South Africa. Successful international models demonstrate that a country’s donor rate can be vastly increased by improving donor awareness, training, routine referral networks within hospitals and collaborations between various stakeholders.
Pilot Research Project
Increasing Tissue donation in South Africa within the state sector
Hospital
Greys Pietermaritzburg
Duration
2 Years
Permission has been granted to implement Management Policy no 85 which we have written and proposed. Three main areas of activity are covered in the policy:
- Hospital Community awareness
Raising awareness is the process of increasing visibility on a certain topic, which empowers and encourages community participation from an informed point of view. Zulu awareness materials, posters and pamphlets will be provided to facilitate information sharing
- Wards to implement routine referrals of all deaths within 4 hours
- Hospital mortuary to facilitate the retrieval of tissue by selected internal and external parties
We have also developed a Tissue Transplant Co-Ordinator manual in association with SATiBA members to facilitate the training of a Zulu intern who has been employed to provide appropriate cultural and linguistic dialogue in raising awareness, training ward staff and approaching Zulu families for donation.
