Background Although the North London Hospice had offered eye donation in the past, this had fallen out of usual practice. We were pleased to be selected to take part in a NHSBT pilot, taking this opportunity to re-implement eye donation to our inpatient unit.

Aims To implement eye donation to the North London Hospice using a sustainable approach. To pilot new NHSBT training materials and eligibility assessment tool.

Methods

• Established a multidisciplinary working group.

• Nominated Eye Donation champions.

• Developed a SOP.

• Developed a documentation template in our electronic patient record system.

• Implemented training using a train the trainers model.

Results During the study period 140 patients were admitted to the North London Hospice Inpatient Unit and 124 inpatients died. 72% of admissions were screened. 69% of patients screened were considered eligible for eye donation. 51% of eligible patients were offered the option of eye donation. Obstacles ranged from lack of confidence, poor communication between team members, patients actively dying on admission or conversations not being prioritised for patients expected to be discharged prior to death. Of those patients offered eye donation in the event of their death, 38% consented. In the 6 month period of the pilot a total of 16 deceased consented patients were referred to NHSBT for eye donation. Six of the referred patients were unable to proceed for reasons including medical contraindications, lack of family consent and lack of available retriever.

Conclusion After not having facilitated any eye donation for several years, the North London Hospice successfully facilitated the donation of 20 eyes during the 6 month period of the pilot study. With the SOP, documentation and champions in place, we anticipate continuing sustainable success and implementation to our community services.