Versiti - Versiti Organ and Tissue Hospital and Medical Partners
 

Hospital and Medical Partners

With your help, we can serve Wisconsin patients who desperately need organ and tissue transplants.

Professional Resources


Versiti is one of 57 federally designated organ procurement organizations (OPO). It is the OPO’s responsibility to assess donor potential, authorize donation, manage organ allocation, order any necessary testing and procure organs at the donor hospital.

It is imperative that hospitals and organ donation organizations work together to facilitate donation in the most effective, impactful way to maximize each donor’s anatomical gift(s). Versiti’s service area covers 12 counties and roughly 2.3 million Wisconsin residents.


Referral Line | 24 Hours
  • 800-432-5405
  • General Information
  • 414-937-6999
  • Nikki Chalsma
    Manager of Hospital Development and Volunteers
  • 608-852-3418
  • Clinical Triggers

    For all patients, call immediately at cardiac time of death, even if a ventilated patient was referred for one of the following triggers:

    • GCS ≤ 5 or Grave Prognosis, or
    • Injured brain or critical lung condition, or
    • Family mentions donation, or
    • Talk to comfort care, code status change, end-of-life

    Clinical Trigger Flyer

    Organ Donation Pathways


    Surgeons involved with Versiti and transplant centers cannot be a part of the death declaration or end-of-life care. Brain death determination, cardiac cessation (asystole or PEA) and declaration in DCD donors must be completed by hospital physicians.

    DBD donors are ventilated patients who have suffered severe neurological injuries and have been declared dead by neurological criteria.

    DCD donors are ventilated patients who have suffered severe injuries but have some brain stem reflexes intact, therefore not meeting brain death criteria. These patients have poor prognoses and would not be able to sustain life without external support. The decision has been made to transition to withdraw life-sustaining therapies, including ventilator support.

    Transplantable Organs and Recoverable Tissues

    • Heart
    • Intestines
    • Kidneys
    • Liver
    • Lungs
    • Pancreas

    • Bone: used to treat patients with orthopedic cancers, damaged spines and damaged joints
    • Tendons and ligaments: used for joint reconstruction and repair of sports injuries
    • Skin: used to treat burns, for breast reconstructions following mastectomies, and for wound treatment
    • Veins and arteries: used to treat those suffering from diabetes and vascular diseases
    • Heart valves: used to repair damaged or diseased heart valves
    • Corneas: used to replace damaged or diseased corneas to improve eyesight
     
    Accreditations & Licenses
    Versiti and its affiliates hold numerous accreditations and licenses, listed here for each Versiti affiliate.
     
    Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA)
     
    Glasgow Coma Scale
     
    Brain Death Testing Resources

    Only Versiti staff will discuss donation with family or legal next of kin, unless otherwise instructed.

    Versiti follows United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) matching per federal legislation. Recipients and donors are matched based on medical factors including blood type, HLA typing, body size, etc. These medical attributes are entered into an algorithm that provides potential recipients that have the best chance of long-term survival. Potential recipients are organized into a list based on how sick they are and how close their transplant center is to the donor hospital.

    You may be told the region in the U.S. where organs were transplanted; however, we cannot share the exact location or transplant center.

    Yes. All ventilated patients who meet clinical triggers need to be referred to Versiti within one hour of the patient meeting the clinical trigger. Referrals are necessary even if patients will be transferred to another unit or out of the hospital. Versiti always hopes that patients improve and are positively extubated; however, as the organ procurement organization, we must evaluate all donation potential in real time so that we are prepared for the time-sensitive process of donation.

    Versiti will follow in the background until the patient improves, is no longer a candidate, or the time arises for a donation conversation with the patient’s next of kin. A Versiti staff member will check in every day to monitor neurological status, family plan and overall patient condition. It is the hospital’s responsibility to update Versiti if a patient loses neurological reflexes, their condition worsens, or if family/medical plan of care changes.
     
    Resources and Forms
    Browse Versiti’s library of resources, including test requisitions and descriptions, blood donor information, educational materials, and more.
     
    Versiti Partnerships
    Versiti community partners and sponsors include amateur and professional sports teams, restaurants, entertainment venues, nonprofits, and more.
     
    Ways to Give
    You can support Versiti’s mission in several ways, including donating blood, hosting a blood drive, joining the organ and tissue donor registry, and more.