Donate Life: CRMH Is Virginia’s Top Organ and Tissue Donor Hospital

Did you know that CRMH has been the Commonwealth’s top donor hospital for three of the past five years?

Not only that, but nearly all of our hospitals recover donor tissue each year as well!

Organ Donation Saves Lives

More than 100,000 people across the country are in need of healthy organs that only other people can give. That includes many people in our region—and year after year, our organization rises to the challenge.

In partnership with LifeNet Health, our federally assigned Organ Procurement Organization, our Critical Care teams are ready the moment a patient meets the criteria for organ donation. Together with the patient’s care team, their family and the transplant teams for recipient patients, they act quickly to ensure that every donation has the life-saving impact the donor intended.

In 2023, CRMH gratefully coordinated organ donations from 39 donors, leading to 102 transplants and 86 lives saved.

CRMH and our community hospitals also coordinated the successful donations of tissue—including skin, bones, ligaments and heart valves—from 54 tissue donors in 2023.

How We Honor Donors

The decision to become an organ donor is an easy one when you’re getting your driver’s license. When a person becomes eligible to donate their organs, however, it is an excruciating time for their loved ones, with little time in the moment to acknowledge the loss and life-giving generosity of the patient.

At CRMH, we make the time.

With the family’s consent, we organize an Honor Walk to pay tribute to patients and support their families as they travel from their unit to the OR to begin the organ donation process.

Seeing the hallway filled with Carilion staff holding them up as they take such difficult steps shows the family how much they are supported and how much their loved one is respected and appreciated.

All employees are welcome to participate in Honor Walks. When an organ donation is imminent, notifications will appear as Alertus banners on PCs, and texts will go out via Everbridge. Donor patients are transported via the south side staff elevators to the fourth-floor OR.

How You Can Help

You can support the life-giving, life-affirming practice of organ and tissue donation in several ways:

• Register with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to become an organ, eye and tissue donor. Be sure and let your family know, especially if you haven’t opted in before.
   
• Add your name to the National Donate Life Registry and/or the Living Donor Registry. This ensures that your decision moves with you if you relocate to another state.
   
• Become an organ donation champion! Encourage friends and family to become donors, and represent your Carilion team in building awareness and support for our organ and tissue donation program. Find out more in the sidebar.

Donate Life Month: April Events

We're celebrating Donate Life month with events at all of our hospitals! Details at the link for CRMH; watch for signs in your location for details about events at our community hospitals.

• CRBH: April 3
• CGCH: April 10
• CRMH: April 12
• CTCH: April 17
• CFMH: April 23
• CNRV: April 24