Transplant Nurse Day

April 19 is Transplant Nurse Day, hosted by: International Transplantation Nurses Society (ITNS). Beginning in 2006, at the present time of recognition raises awareness of “the unique contributions transplant nurses make to the lives of the people they work with, especially their patients,” and takes place on the third Wednesday in April.

According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Serviceswithin the US, there are currently over 119,000 people on the national transplant waiting list, and “in 2015 – the first year in which transplants were performed – 30,970 [to exceed] over 30,000 transplants.” Every day, about “80 people receive organ transplants,” a Organ procurement and transplantation network reports that between January and February 2017, 5,367 transplants were performed.

Transplant nurses and transplant nurse coordinators play a crucial role within the organ donation and transplantation process. Transplant nurse coordinators work with patients throughout all the process, from pre-transplant evaluation and placement to post-transplant care. Transplant nurses prepare living donors and inform them about any risks related to donation. They also look after patients who receive vital organs from living donors, assist the medical team during surgery, look after patients within the postoperative period, and monitor for organ rejection.

Without transplant nurses, transplant centers and programs couldn’t function. In honor of this celebration, listed here are some resources related to transplant nursing:

• Collection of organ donors – value 7 contact hours!

• Managing primary care of patients after liver transplantation

• Issues related to organ procurement, allocation and transplantation

• Core curriculum for transplant nurses

• Immunosuppression in solid organ transplantation: basics and practical suggestions
• Overview of organ transplantation: heart, lung, kidney, liver and simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation

Thank you, transplant nurses, for all you do!