Facilitating the Gift of Sight | Donor Services Center Spotlight

Saving Sight’s Donor Services Center (DSC) plays a vital role in facilitating the gift of eye donation for thousands of individuals each year. Our DSC serves as the communications hub of Saving Sight’s eye banking operations. The department, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, keeps the donation process moving forward and helps fulfill the wishes of potential eye donors.

A DSC coordinator’s work begins when they receive a referral for a potential donor case from one of our organ procurement organization partners (OPO). The coordinator will then conduct a referral screening call with the nursing staff at the hospital that referred the death. If the potential donor meets Saving Sight’s referral criteria, the coordinator will contact the next-of-kin to discuss the opportunity for eye donation. Our DSC team will also conduct an in-depth medical and social screening interview with the donor’s next-of-kin to identify any potential rule-outs for donation.

Once the DSC has determined that Saving Sight can move forward with recovering the donor’s gift of eye donation, they dispatch a recovery technician on site. They will also make courtesy calls back to the donor hospital and the funeral home to keep them up-to-date on the recovery technician’s arrival and departure.

At the same time, the DSC team will work to gain access to the patient’s medical chart. They will review records for any potential rule-outs for donation to ensure safety for the transplant recipient. Finally, specially trained DSC team members will conduct a final review of medical records, serology results, and any other important information to the case to determine final eligibility and release for transplant.

The DSC’s work happens quickly, and eye donation recovery must happen within 24 hours from the time of death. Therefore, the DSC team members must exhibit excellent multi-tasking skills while also compassionately communicating with various stakeholders, including grieving families. We’re proud to have a group of caring and highly skilled individuals who work in our Donor Services Center!