Information for Hospitals
Mid South Eye Bank is the designated eye bank for the Mid South. We are affiliated with the DONORS5 network and are designated to respond when a donor is identified, whether or not the donor is also donating organ or tissue other than eyes.
The federal mandate requires that hospital personnel inform the organ recovery agency of every death in their facility so that every family can be offered the opportunity to donate. In the Mid South, that is the DONORS5 network. Hospitals call DONORS5 when someone passes away in their facility and answers a series of simple, straightforward questions so the transplant viability of the donor can be evaluated. Hospital personnel are also responsible for several other requirements relative to the potential donor:
- To inform DONORS5 timely, within an hour or less after time of death.
- To not release the body of the deceased to the funeral home until the donation process (and subsequent organ/tissue recovery) is complete.
- For eyes, to insure that proper eye care is performed. Eyes should be rinsed with saline and eye lids closed. Ice packs should be placed on 4X4’s (so the eyes do not freeze) and placed over the eyes.
- To make the hospital chart available to representatives of the donor agencies so donor potential can be evaluated.
- To insure that donor personnel have a quiet, private work area to recover the tissue and that they are not disturbed by unauthorized personnel.
The Mid South Eye Bank is tasked with recovering corneal tissue on hospital premises while observing and respecting the hospital’s rules and regulations and the leadership role of the hospital’s physicians and nursing personnel. In this role, we must work efficiently and quickly so that hospital operations are not disrupted. Like you, we are a “continuous service” operation and our personnel can be seen in hospitals around the clock and whenever a donor becomes available.
We invite nursing personnel to observe our procedure, their schedule permitting, and to ask questions since we appreciate any interest nursing personnel have in the donation process and the surgical techniques our technicians must observe in recovering tissue.