In the vibrant city of Nashville, Tennessee, a unique and transformative program is taking place within the realm of medicine.
As the clock strikes midnight, the bustling operating room gradually succumbs to a profound stillness, a poignant moment of reverence and respect for the man who lies motionless on the table.
However, this surgery is far from ordinary. Detrick Witherspoon, the individual in question, had tragically passed away prior to his arrival in the operating room.
Yet, in a remarkable turn of events, two eager and awe-struck medical students find themselves at the epicenter of this extraordinary experience, poised to embark on a hands-on journey into the realm of organ donation.
This innovative initiative seeks to address the underrepresentation of Black and other minority doctors within the transplant field, aiming to foster greater trust and confidence among patients of color.
Dr. James Hildreth, the president of Meharry Medical College, boldly highlighted a glaring truth when he lamented, “There are very few transplant surgeons who look like me.”
This profound statement sheds light on the stark reality of the medical field, where representation and diversity remain major challenges.
Recognizing the urgent need to address this issue, Meharry Medical College has joined forces with Tennessee Donor Services to embark on a groundbreaking project.
This collaboration is just one example of the tireless efforts undertaken by historically Black colleges and universities to confront the deeply entrenched inequities that exist within the realm of organ transplantation.
By tackling this pressing issue head-on, these institutions are striving to create a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system for all.
During their summer break following their first year at Meharry, a group of six students embarked on an enlightening journey by shadowing a donor agency.
Their aim was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the intricate steps involved in making transplants possible.
This encompassed everything from locating suitable donors, delicately approaching grieving families about donation, to skillfully retrieving organs and matching them with recipients, often separated by hundreds of miles.
Inside the operating room, Teresa Belledent, one of the students, found herself grappling with the fear of becoming emotionally overwhelmed upon seeing the face of a donor.
This particular individual, a Black father of six, aged just 44, bore a striking resemblance to her own father. However, to her surprise, a sense of serenity washed over her as Dr.
Marty Sellers, the skilled surgeon representing the organ agency, commenced the retrieval of the kidneys and liver.
Belledent and her classmate, Emmanuel Kotey, were fortunate enough to witness this procedure firsthand, as Sellers simultaneously imparted invaluable knowledge.
Belledent reflected on her ability to simultaneously experience sorrow and pay homage to the donor, while remaining focused on the profound act of assisting others.
This sentiment resonated with her as the exhausted team embarked on the arduous two-hour journey back to Nashville from the hospital in Jackson, Tennessee.
However, the night’s events took an even more challenging turn. Several hours into the surgery, an eerie silence engulfed the room once more.
It transpired that the donor had tragically succumbed to a brain hemorrhage, but the discovery of previously undiagnosed cancer in his lungs rendered the kidneys and liver unsuitable for transplantation. Nevertheless, the corneas were still viable for donation.
For Belledent and Kotey, this unexpected turn of events served as a poignant and powerful teaching moment, highlighting the unpredictable nature of medicine and the importance of adaptability in the face of adversity.
MISTRUST AND THE TRANSPLANT GAP
In spite of the remarkable increase in the number of transplants in recent years, a distressing reality persists: thousands of individuals lose their lives while waiting for organ donations due to a severe shortage.
Furthermore, it is disheartening to acknowledge that some individuals are not afforded an equitable opportunity to receive the life-saving treatment they desperately need.
A particularly concerning disparity exists within the Black American community, as they are more than three times as likely as their white counterparts to experience kidney failure.
Regrettably, Black Americans encounter significant delays in being placed on the transplant waiting list and are significantly less likely to receive organs from living donors, which are widely regarded as the most optimal form of donation.
Astonishingly, while Black patients constitute 28% of the overall waiting list for all organs, they account for a mere 16% of deceased donors.
It is crucial to recognize that increasing the diversity of donors not only addresses the pressing issue of organ scarcity but also enhances the likelihood of finding suitable matches for patients in need.
Faced with this daunting challenge, Jill Grandas, the executive director of Tennessee Donor Services, turned to Hildreth in search of answers to the vital question: “How do we bridge this gap?”
The students of Meharry Medical College are well aware of the deep-rooted mistrust that many individuals harbor towards the medical system.
This mistrust can be attributed to a history of abuses, such as the infamous Tuskegee experiment, where Black men were left untreated for syphilis.
This legacy of mistreatment acts as a significant barrier to both organ donation and seeking medical care, including transplants, which may be unfamiliar to many.
Austin Brown, a resident of Memphis, shared the story of his grandfather who had a strong aversion to medicine and tragically passed away from a heart attack after refusing a potentially life-saving artery-clearing stent.
Similarly, Belledent from Miami recalled her mother advising against checking the organ donor box on her driver’s license due to a widespread myth that doctors would not exert as much effort to save the life of a registered donor.
Belledent now realizes the fallacy of this belief, as she has witnessed firsthand the meticulous care and attention given to patients in the ICU, with no consideration given to their organ donor status.
Stacey Scotton from Cleveland, Tennessee, mentioned a conversation with a cook in Meharry’s cafeteria who listed various reasons why being an organ donor is perceived as a bad idea.
Scotton, equipped with her knowledge from Meharry, was able to provide comfort and correct the misconceptions held by the cook.
MATCHING ORGANS TO RECIPIENTS
In a Nashville ICU, a medical professional named Brown is undergoing training in the delicate task of providing bedside care for a deceased donor.
The donor in question is an 18-year-old victim of a motorcycle crash. Brown is also learning how to match the organs from this donor with patients on the national waiting list.
Upon examination, it is immediately determined that the heart is in high demand and is quickly claimed by a transplant center. However, there is an issue with the lungs.
Despite the fact that these lungs are functioning well and young donors’ organs are typically in great demand, hospitals have rejected them for 16 patients.
This rejection is primarily based on a week-old scan in the donor’s medical records that suggested the presence of bruising.
Brown finds this denial baffling and decides to take a risk. He assists the nurses in moving the body for another CT scan to provide concrete evidence that the lungs are indeed in good condition.
Fortunately, this gamble pays off and the next transplant center in line seizes the opportunity to acquire the lungs.
This experience teaches Brown an important lesson about the intricate process of organ donation. He realizes that each step in the process is like a gear in a machine, and if even one gear fails, the entire system breaks down.
This realization becomes Brown’s biggest takeaway from this training. Another student, Mikhail Thanawalla from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, also reflects on the significance of the many steps involved in successful organ donation.
WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE FOR FAMILIES
One of the most memorable aspects for the students was the opportunity to hear from grieving families who shared their experiences with organ donation.
Daphne Myers, who was still grappling with the loss of her 26-year-old son, initially had reservations about discussing the topic.
She admits, “I remember my reaction: I don’t want to talk about that.” Myers explains that she had not been educated on the subject, as her generation was not raised to be organ donors.
However, her perspective began to change when the donor representative approached her with compassion, asking about her son and his selfless nature. It was then that Myers discovered her son had been a registered organ donor, and she realized she supported his decision.
Reflecting on that encounter, she fondly recalls, “She was caring. That changed my opinion, changed my mind… The impact you guys can have on families, the caring that comes along with doing your job, it makes all the difference.”
While it remains uncertain if the program influenced the students’ career paths, Grandas plans to expand the initiative by inviting students from a historically Black nursing school next year.
One student, Kotey, aspires to become a general practitioner and is determined to ensure that all his patients, regardless of age, are aware of the importance of organ donation.
On the other hand, Belledent has harbored a long-standing dream of becoming a surgeon. Growing up in Haiti, she witnessed the struggles of family friends with kidney disease who had no access to transplants.
As a result, specializing in transplant surgery is high on her list of aspirations, as she finds the idea of giving someone a second chance at life incredibly compelling.