PROVIDENCE – A first-of-its-kind program for parents who serve as organ donors for their children has been inaugurated at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, enabling pediatric patients and their parent-donors to stay together in the same hospital room while recovering from surgery.
The program, Together Through Transplantation, was developed by the hospital’s Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Thomas Tracy.
On Jan. 1, 2011, the hospital officially discharged the first family to participate in the Together Through Transplantation program following a kidney transplant.
The parent and child had side-by-side surgeries, and then each spent the first two days in their respective intensive care units. The parent and child were moved to a room on the fifth floor of Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where they recovered together over the next few days.
“Rather than having mom or dad a quarter-mile away on the adult side, they can stay in the same room as their child, where they can encourage their child and take a more active role in the recovery process,” said Dr. Paul Morrissey, surgical director of the transplant program at Rhode Island Hospital.
The accommodation requires a great deal of planning, organization and training, according to hospital officials. “A team of 15 to 20 doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and dietitians had to prepare to coordinate both adult and pediatric care simultaneously,” Tracy said.
Rhode Island Hospital does about 50 transplants each year, according to Jill Reuter, Lifespan spokeswoman. About three children a year receive transplants, with one-to-two parent to child donations, Reuter said.
