Organ Donation Week – we talk to a member of staff

As part of Organ Donation Awareness Week, we've had a chat with Habiba Ahmed who's one of our Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation (informally known as a SNOD!).

Habiba has worked at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for over ten years – she worked for seven years as a Critical Care Nurse, and three and a half as a Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I'd say there's no such thing as a typical day - but that's the case for lots of medical professionals, I think!  That's part of the appeal of the job.

Typically, we receive referrals from critical care units when the treatment focus moves towards end of life care.

We check the organ donor register and assess suitability for organ donation.

Our next step is an important one, as we start putting plans in place to talk to the patient's family to help them make an informed decision.  It can be a very difficult time for them, so we treat them with care and consideration to help them decide what they want to do.

If a family chooses to donate their loved one's organs, we start a process called donor characterisation which involves things like taking bloods, contacting the patient's GP, updating our electronic donor system, and registering the donor with the NHS Blood and Transplant hub (NHSBT).

Our colleagues at NHSBT then offer the donated organs to transplant centres. Once the organs are accepted, we mobilise a specialist retrieval surgeons to the donating hospital to retrieve them. We then update the family on what organs were successfully donated and transplanted.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?

It's an honour to help and support families who are making a really important decision at a very difficult time in their life. It's terribly sad when a loved one dies, but our job gives us the opportunity to save and improve the lives of others while supporting the donor families.

What's the most challenging part of your job?

A vital part of organ donation is making your loved ones aware of your wishes. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the difficult position where families aren't aware of what their loved ones wanted to do at the end of their life, and find it hard to make an informed decision.

We'd encourage as many people as possible to sign up to the organ donor register, but it's just as important to let those close to you know your wishes and decisions.

Let's talk about organ donation

Organ donation is one of the best opportunities to help others - you can save up to nine lives by donating. It's important to speak to your family about your end of life decisions - it makes things much easier for them when the decision has to be made. You're much more likely to suffer from organ failure and need a transplant rather than be in the position to donate organs - that's always food for thought.

We'd encourage everyone to thoughtfully consider signing the NHS Organ Donor Register, and share their wishes with family and friends.

Please visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk to sign up.

Pictured: Habiba Ahmed