Independent Living Donor Advocate, MAP 2, Newark, DE

ChristianaCare is currently seeking a casual Independent Living Donor Advocate for our Renal Transplant Team located in the MAP 2 building of the main ChristianaCare campus in Newark, DE.

The primary responsibility of this role is to ensure the protection of the rights of living donors and prospective living donors, including informed decisions, while balancing external/family pressures to donate. Serve as the living donors advocate to help determine suitability to serve as a donor and to provide him/her with the education needed to make an informed decision regarding proceeding with evaluation and donation.

The donor advocate should receive no financial or personal incentives to approve the donors participation.

Work Schedule

This is a casual position and based on volume, so candidate must be flexible.

The living donor advocate should:

• Represent and advise the donor, protect and promote the interests of the donor, and respect the donors decision, ensuring that the donors decision is informed and free from coercion.
• Advocate for the rights of the living donor.
• Function independently from the transplant candidates team and not be involved in the recipients care.
• Recuse him/herself if the advocate believes that he or she has a conflict of interest in the evaluation of a case.
• Be assigned to and interview the potential living donor prior to the initiation of an evaluation, meet with the living donor during the evaluation visit, and continue to be available up-to and through the discharge phase, per CMS regulations.
• Structure the process of informed choice and emphasize that the decision to donate is not a foregone conclusion.
• Provide information regarding the medical, psychosocial, and financial implications of the live donation and connect the living donor to the correct resources when needed.
• Evaluate potential living donors during the course of the pre-donation testing as requested by the transplant physician, transplant coordinator or transplant social worker.
• Review and document whether the living donor has received information on each of the following areas and assist the donor in obtaining additional information from other professionals as needed about the:
  • Informed consent process as described in OPTN Policy 14.3: Informed Consent Requirements
  • Evaluation process according to OPTN Policies 14.1.A: Living Donor Psychosocial Evaluation Requirements and 14.4.A: Living Donor Medical Evaluation Requirements
  • Surgical procedure
  • Follow-up requirements, and the benefit and need for participating in recovery hospitals requirements according to OPTN Policies 18.1: Data Submission Requirements, 18.4: Living Donor Data Submission Requirements, and 18.5.B: Reporting of Living Donor Events by Recovery Hospitals
• Discuss with the donor the formal conclusion regarding his/her medical and psychosocial suitability for the surgery.
• Disclose the advocates institutional affiliations and member involvement in the care of the recipient, if any to the potential donor
• Provide the donor surgeon and transplant team with a written statement of the advocates decision regarding the donors suitability and be available for further discussion.
• Explain to the donor that the donor advocate will make a formal recommendation regarding donor suitability and assist the transplant program in making the decision whether or not to proceed with the donation.
• Decide whether to impose a time out period before final approval for the donation.
• Safeguard the confidentiality of the donor throughout the process.
• Fulfill the qualification and training requirements specified in the transplant programs protocols regarding knowledge of living organ donation, transplantation, medical ethics, informed consent, and the potential impact of family or other external pressure on the living donors decision about whether to donate.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Healthcare professional with minimum of 5 years of experience required.
• Bachelors degree in a health-related field required, Masters preferred.
• Nursing, Social Work, or similar healthcare background preferred.
• Knowledge of living organ donation, transplantation, medical ethics, and informed consent process preferred.

Qualified candidates should apply online and include a current resume.

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