Having known Kay personally, I admired her sense of humor. She had a "giggle" that always made me smile. Kay will be remembered for the love she gave in her life and in her death. Many people received miracles following her tragic and untimely death. As expressions of sympathy are extended to the family in their loss, gratitude is also sent to them for having the compassion, courage, and love to honor Kay's desire to help others. She will be fondly remembered by all who knew her, and she will forever be honored with respect by "those who now live....because of her."

Sincerely,
Carol Nowell, Managing Editor

Gloria Kay Harrison was born in Ralls, Texas. She was a receptionist in Dr. Roger Humphrey's office for nine years. She is described as being "happy, hard working, very kind, and always willing to help anyone who needed assistance." Her hobbies included knitting, sewing, and bowling. She was active in Girl Scouts for 13 years. She was a great cook and did lots of canning each summer. She is survived by her husband, David, a son, Frank, a daughter, Paula, and two granddaughters, Kara and Shelby. Kay took pride in her son and his service to the United States Army. She and David were always together. He wanted her with him wherever he was or whatever he was doing, and she wanted to be there especially at all sporting events. She was a member of Dean Baptist Church and was buried in the Dean Cemetery.

****************************************

Organ Donation by Pam Silvestri
Southwest Transplant Alliance

No one has ever begun his or her day thinking "Today I’m going to be an organ donor." But one Wichita Falls woman had taken the time to make her wishes known to her family, and that notification saved the lives of four people she had never even met. Actually, a total of 50 people benefitted.

On May 8, 1998, Gloria "Kay" Harrison, 48, had a sudden loss of consciousness. She was found in the bathroom of the doctor’s office where she worked. The physician, Dr. Roger Humphrey, called an ambulance and Kay was taken to United Regional Health Care System – 11^th Street Campus.

Within 12 hours, Kay had progressed to brain death.

On May 9, at 4:00 a.m., Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA), Wichita Falls’ organ donation agency, received a call from United Regional about a 48-year-old woman who was a potential donor.

STA’s Brian Magie arrived at United Regional by air charter at 8:15 a.m. on May 9, and Kay Harrison was pronounced brain dead at 9:30. Consent for organ donation was obtained from Kay’s husband David by United Regional’s Brad Thaggered, RN, the nursing supervisor on duty.

"From Claudine Farrell, the patient’s primary nurse, to the entire nursing and OR staff and the Cath lab team, everyone at this hospital was tremendously helpful and cooperative," Magie says. "They were prompt in meeting our every need, and they responded quickly and enthusiastically to every request that we made."

Magie’s plane returned to Dallas with cultures and blood for serology and tissue testing. He then began his responsibilities of managing the patient and placing the patient’s organs for transplant.

"Based on her medical and social history, Kay was a very healthy woman," Magie remembers. "The only red flag was her history of smoking, so we ran some tests to see if we would be able to place her lungs for transplant."

Tests showed that aspiration occurred at the time of the anuerysm, so unfortunately, Kay’s O₂ challenge was poor.

"We typically looks for a 3 to 1 ratio, or or a PaO₂ level of 300 mmHg on 100% oxygen," Magie explains. "She had a 2-1 ratio and, at one point got up to 291, but then the numbers went back down."

Because of that smoking history, there was also some concern regarding Kay’s coronary arteries, but a cardiac cath showed that the arteries were clear, and her heart was accepted for transplant.

Magie got on the telephone to call transplant centers whose patients matched Kay’s blood type and general body size. Her liver, both kidneys and pancreas were each placed with the very first patient who came up as a match.

Kay’s heart was placed after four calls, because the first patient cross matched positively, the second was medically unsuitable to receive the transplant and the third was not a good match in terms of size.

By 5:30 p.m., all of Kay’s organs had been placed, and Magie’s attention turned to securing an operating room and arranging for all of the surgical teams to get to the hospital.

Inclement weather and a surgeon’s conference that was in progress led to some difficulty in arranging for surgeons to arrive promptly. Once Magie had finished making arrangements for the necessary surgeons to get to Wichita Falls, he set a 9:30 p.m. OR time for the surgical recovery of the organs.

Throughout the day, Magie sat down with Kay’s family to answer their questions about the donation process, and to share with them some general information about the organs that had been placed.

"This is the best case I have ever worked," Magie says. "The donor’s family was great to work with. They asked a lot of good questions and they appreciated every bit of the information that I was able to share with them."

STA’s Jane Haycraft arrived in Wichita Falls that evening to help Magie with the organ recovery. The surgeons arrived and the patient was taken to the OR, after her family said their final goodbyes.

Kay Harrison’s heart saved a 58-year-old man who is married and has been disabled since early 1990. Just one day after his surgery he was out of ICU and was expected to have a full recovery.

Kay’s liver saved a 60-year-old female who has been married for 25 years and has 14 children.

One of Kay’s kidneys and her pancreas saved a 33-year-old female who is married, has one child and works as a registered nurse.

Kay’s other kidney saved a 41-year-old woman.

Five pints of her AB Negative blood were donated.

DONATION TIMELINE

Gloria "Kay" Harrison

May 9, 1998

4:00 a.m. Patti Byrne of Southwest Transplant Alliance receives a call from United Regional Health Care System, about a 48-year-old woman who is a potential organ donor.

8:15 a.m. Brian Magie of Southwest Transplant Alliance arrives on site at United Regional Health Care System.

9:30 a.m. Patient is pronounced brain dead. Consent for donation is obtained from the patient’s husband and sister, by Brad Thaggert, RN, the nursing supervisor on duty.

11:00 a.m. Blood and tissue samples are drawn and sent to Dallas for tissue typing and serology.

11:30 a.m. Magie starts placing calls to transplant centers.

5:30 p.m. The patient’s heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas are placed for transplant. The operating room is reserved for 9:30 p.m.

10:00 p.m. STA’s Jane Haycraft and surgical transplant teams arrive.

10:30 p.m. Kay’s family says their final goodbyes. She is taken to the OR and prepared for the organ recovery.

11:00 p.m. Organ recovery begins.

May 10, 1998

12:10 a.m. Heart recovered.

12:20 a.m. Liver recovered.

12:24 a.m. Pancreas recovered.

12:30 a.m. Kidneys recovered.

1:20 a.m. Magie and Haycraft return to Dallas. Transplant teams return to their centers with organs for transplant.

Then a team from Galveston arrived to harvest tissue, muscles, and long bones. Tissues are usually transplanted long after the fact, unlike the organs that are needed right away.

BY THE NUMBERS

10
People die each day while on a waiting list for a transplant.

16
Minutes before another name is added to the transplant waiting list.

60,000
Approximate number of people currently waiting for life-saving organ transplants. Many are less than 10 years old, and about 3,000 are Texans.

30
Percent of potential donors who actually have their organs donated. The nation currently averages about 5,000 organ donors per year.

10,000
Number of organ donors it would take annually to virtually wipe out the need for a waiting list.

50
Number of people one single organ and tissue donor can help.

0
Cost to the donor’s family.

HOW TO BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR

Right now, thousands of people are dying, waiting for transplants.

You want to save lives. So you have decided to become an organ and tissue donor. Maybe you have even signed something.

But you may have not taken the most important step.

You must tell your family about your decision, so that they will know what you want. Your family must consent in order for you to be a donor.

For answers to your questions, or for free information, call 800-201-0527.

editor@medmag.org

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