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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long-time Partners to Increase Efficiencies by Eliminating Steps for Hospitals in the Referral Process
JULY 15, 2008 SEATTLE — It was announced today that Northwest Tissue Services, a division of Puget Sound Blood Center, and SightLife, one of the leading eye banks in the nation, have extended and enhanced their long-standing partnership to increase tissue and cornea donation by increasing efficiencies in the hospital referral process. Beginning July 28, hospital staff will call SightLife donation coordinators directly for both cornea and tissue referral, eliminating a second call to Tissue Services. This elimination of redundancies will free hospital staff to focus more time on patient and family care and less time on administration.
“Tissue and cornea donation are essential areas within the field of transplantation. Thousands of patients benefit each year from tissue grafts and corneas. At the same time hundreds of families have the opportunity to honor their loved ones through the utmost selfless act of tissue and cornea donation” said Jorge Duran, director, Northwest Tissue Services. “With a 70 percent donation consent rate among its donor families, we are confident that this extension of our partnership with SightLife will lead to increased tissue donation and more opportunities for Northwest Tissue Services to serve patients in the Northwest.”
“With SightLife donation coordinators taking on the initial referral call from hospitals, Northwest Tissue Services will benefit from our proven donor consent model that has made us the top eye bank in the US, according to the Eye Bank Association of America,” said Monty Montoya, president and CEO, SightLife. “In 2007 we provided nearly 3,000 corneas for transplant and hope to work with more donor families this year to provide vital tissue and corneas to patients in this region. Northwest Tissue Services is a partner who shares our absolute commitment to recipients and donor families and we couldn’t be more pleased to extend our partnership in a way that builds on our independent strengths for the benefit of the community.”
SightLife™, operated by the Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight & Hearing, is one of the leading eye banks in the nation. The Lions Clubs of Washington and Northern Idaho first started this eye bank, then known as the Northwest Lions Eye Bank, in 1969. That first year, it provided 30 corneas for transplant. Times have changed, and SightLife continues to grow. In 2007, it provided more than 2,800 corneas for transplant, meeting the need in the region and helping fill gaps across the United States and in 25 other countries. SightLife is a member of both the Eye Bank Association of America and the Vision Share consortium of eye banks.
Northwest Tissue Services at Puget Sound Blood Center employs more than 50 full-time employees and provides transplant services to Washington, northern Idaho, and Montana. These include donation services to 171 regional hospitals; musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and skin allografts for transplant.
Puget Sound Blood Center is an independent, community-based nonprofit with a tradition of blending volunteerism, medical science and research to improve the patients’ lives. Patients with leukemia, cancer, burns, hemophilia and traumatic injuries depend on Blood Center research. The recognized leader in transfusion medicine, the Blood Center operates the world's largest transfusion service, serves patients in more than 70 hospitals and clinics in 14 Western Washington counties, and provides tissue and transplantation support to 185 hospitals across the Northwest. For more information, please contact Director of Communications Michael Young at 206-292-6589.
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