Do Not Resuscitate OrderKentucky law forbids the EMS from recognizing any DNR request unless it's specifically spelled out on the “Kentucky Emergency Medical Services Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order”. It's also important to note that you must present EMS with the original, signed document—not a copy. (We suggest you make several originals so all concerned parties will have an actionable form). If you need help filling out the form, we will be glad to assist you. Or if you don't have anyway to print out the document, contact us and we will have one sent to your home.
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You can save lives
Donation FactsAlmost 100,000 Americans are registered on the United Network for Organ Sharing waiting list for donated organs, including over 740 people on the waiting list in Kentucky. In 2007, approximately 29,000 successful organ transplants were performed. It is estimated that twice as many could have been performed if more people donated organs. A new name is added to the waiting list every 14 minutes. By law, donation is the right of every American age 18 or older. Hospitals are obligated by law, to identify potential donors and to inform families of their right to donate. Every year, an estimated 6,000 people die while waiting for an organ transplant. Fifteen to seventeen people die each day due to the lack of a donated organ. Transplantable organs include the kidney, heart, liver, lung, pancreas and small bowel. Transplantable tissues include bone, cartilage, skin, corneas, heart valves, saphenous veins, tendons and ligaments. Individuals may indicate their wish to be a donor by joining the Kentucky Organ Donor Registry. An individual may go to www.donatelifeky.org to register. Since Kentucky has First Person Consent laws in place, an individual's wishes to donate will be honored. For more information on how to register in your state go to www.donatelife.net. Acceptable donors range from newborn to senior citizens. All major religions approve of organ and tissue donation. One individual donor can provide organs, bone and tissue for nearly 50 people in need. All efforts are made to save a person's life regardless of whether he or she has signed up on the Registry. Doctors involved in initial care of a patient cannot be involved in donation or transplantation. An estimated 450,000 Americans are treated with transplanted bone, tendon and ligament tissue each year. There is no extra expense for the family donating organs or tissues. KODA pays all costs related to organ and tissue donation. About 50,000 cornea transplants are performed annually, with 5,000 people waiting for donated corneas. The donor's body is not disfigured by organ or tissue removal. An open casket funeral is possible. No one should be able to recognize that the individual was a donor. Source: Kentucky Organ Donors Association, 2009 |
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Even after your death, you can save the lives of countless others simply by registering to donate your organs. And it's now even easier than possible by registering on the  |
A DNR order means specifically that if cardiac and/or respiratory arrest occurs — that is, if a person stops breathing and/or his/her heart stops beating — we will not perform or continue cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive the person. However, if the person is not in cardiac or respiratory arrest, we will provide the appropriate medical treatment for any and all injuries, pain, difficult or shortness of breath, hemorrhage and/or any other medical conditions. |
