Supporting the Family Through Research and Medical Education
“We could not be more proud of our son. For us, donation was able to add an extra layer of meaning to his short 37 weeks in utero and 1 hour and 20 minutes alive in our arms. It has also brought us unexplainable peace, joy, and healing.”
In September, 2012, IIAM was presented with a 36 week gestation anencephalic for donation for medical research and education. The donor family spent months contacting hospitals and facilities they hoped would assist with their desire for donation and were met with opposition. They finally reached out to their local Organ Procurement Organization and, through them, were introduced to IIAM. IIAM was to facilitate the placement of multiple organs and tissues within the timeframes of a birth plan.
Challenges
- Inability to secure baby’s birth weight which played a factor in successful placement with certain researchers
- Assessing ischemic damage, a major limiting criteria for researchers, due to inability to predict birth to death timeframe
- Orchestrating family bonding time with their baby without impacting the recovery plan
- Coordinating limited flight transport that met researcher’s target Cold Ischemic Time