Tissue Services

9 August 2010

Appreciation award for supporting bone tissue donation

The pre-operative assessment team at Wycombe Hospital has been awarded a certificate of appreciation from the NHS Blood and Transplant Tissue Service, for their work in supporting bone tissue donation.

The team has been instrumental in improving the process that allows patients who are having hip replacements to donate the bone that is removed during their surgery. All patients attend pre-operative assessment before their operation, to ensure they are fit enough to have surgery, and raising awareness of bone donation is now part of this process.

Helen Bandy, deputy sister, pre-operative assessment service, said: "We are extremely proud to have been recognised for our work by NHS Blood and Transplant Tissue Service. The award was unexpected but very much appreciated by the team. It is very encouraging when your hard work is recognised, particularly at a national level".

Helen added: "The team is committed to providing the best patient care we can and appreciation such as this helps to validate our work and motivate us to achieve even more".

Patients who wish to donate their bone are assessed for their suitability and then a legal consent process is completed at the pre-operative assessment. The bone can then be harvested to be used in various ways for patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery.

The pre-op team has utilised all available resources to facilitate bone tissue donation, at no extra cost, and the number of patients who are donating has improved dramatically.