Donation Decoded

Technical Description

For Donation Decoded to accurately predict if a patient is a strong, or a poor candidate for Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD), a very specific clinical evaluation protocol must be followed. The  protocol includes a spontaneous respiratory effort evaluation. This specific evaluation is usually performed by the physician, respiratory therapist, or ICU nurse and is essential to obtaining accurate results. During the evaluation, the ventilator circuit is disconnected from the endotracheal tube. The patient is allowed to breathe spontaneously and without ventilatory support for a period of 8-10 minutes. Negative Inspiratory Force, Tidal Volume, and Respiratory Rate are measured and recorded, along with vital signs during this time period. In addition to the respiratory effort evaluation, a detailed neurological exam is obtained and used to support the predicted outcome. When combined, these two essential clinical exams provide the data needed to accurately predict if a patient is a strong or a poor candidate for DCD.