U of Pittsburgh tries ED donor organ program

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's hospital plans to kick off a unique program which would attempt to do better at obtaining donor organs from patients who can't be revived. Under the program, to be named Condition T, if patients can't be revived, doctors would contact the local organ recovery organization to see whether the patient was a registered donor. If so, the patient's family would be notified, then a team of professionals other than those attempting the resuscitation would recover the organs.

The program will begin by focusing on recovering livers and kidneys, organs for which there is the longest waiting list nationally. Officials have estimated that such a program could make 40 additional kidneys and 20 additional livers available each year.

To learn more about Condition T:
- read this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette piece

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