Presenter: Kathryn Hodges, Public Health Science, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum project I took part in an internship at the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland. Over the winter break I traveled to Baltimore every day to work with the education team at the LLF. The LLF is the organ procurement organization for the state of Maryland, this means they are the facilitators between individuals who wish to donate the gift of life by giving their organ or tissue and the hospitals and their staff. With the education team I took part in “Donation University”, during this time we helped to educate new staff members about the process of donation and all of the work that the LLF does. During my time at LLF I also was able to get close with a transplant doctor from South Africa who has come to America to pursue a master’s in public health at Hopkins University. Dr. Hlo Ni was also working on a capstone project with the LLF as he wished to understand how he could implement an OPO type organization in the transplant system in South Africa. With his insight I was able to learn so much about how the medical system in our country varies to that of the system in South Africa.
Dear Kathryn,
You spoke about the stigma surrounding being an organ donor for people in the U.S., and I was wondering if you could elaborate upon the causes of this? Why do people seem to have an aversion to it, and what does American society generally presume about the organ donor system? It is very exciting to hear that you are on the nursing track, but I know that within health professions with such subjects as organ transplants it can sometimes be a difficult arena with going about trying to convince people to join such a program. So how will you approach the balance between trying to encourage the system versus coming across as insistent and pushy with potential donors,…
Hello Kathryn,
I really liked your presentation. I have had a family member who was in need of a transplant before so it was very interesting to learn more about this topic from your perspective in a hospital. Since the burden of people in need of transplants is much too high for the number of people willing to donate, how would you go about getting more people to consider donating organs?
Hi Kathryn,
This was a very clear and engaging presentation. In terms of the contrasting of the United States and South Africa, what is a limitation of each country in terms of transplant donations that you learned about in your practicum?
Best,
Jenna