A dedicated organ donor unit is now open in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — AdventHealth and OurLegacy, which is an organ procurement organization, have opened OurLegacy Center.

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“This type of specialized donor care unit increases the number of organs available to the transplant community,” Dr. Bobby Nibhanupudy, medical director for the AdventHealth Transplant Institute abdominal transplant program and OurLegacy, said.

OurLegacy Center is a mini-intensive care unit designed specifically for people in Central Florida who have been pronounced brain dead and whose organs are going to be transplanted. There is currently more than 100,000 people on the transplant waiting list in the U.S.

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“Every donor can save up to eight lives,” Ginny McBride, the Executive Director for OurLegacy, said. “Heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestine.”

Not only will this center increase the number of transplants possible, but it will also support families like the Dawkins. Their daughter, Brooke, passed away in 2014. Her organ donation saved four lives.

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“You wish you’d had more time,” Chris Dawkins, Brooke’s father, said. “I think with that room, you would get that time. I think it would promote the healing.”

The specialized unit has a 50-person staff with both critical care services and surgical care services.

It also provides space for families with support from chaplains, family service coordinators, and critical care nurses.

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“So that they can feel like they’re the most important thing to us when they’re here,” McBride said. “They’re loved one is the most important thing when they’re here. I think that’s the real difference.”

If you are not an organ donor but would like to become one, you can sign up here.

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