Heparin Bolus for Donation After Cardiac Death

PLEASE NOTE:   Posts made to this forum should not be considered as the expressed opinions of, nor should be considered endorsed by, the Medication Safety Officer’s Society (MSOS) or the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). 

Make sure your email is up-to-date
In order to continue to receive updates from MSOS, as well as forum posts and other valuable information as a member of MSOS, please be sure to update your email address with us, whenever it changes. If you need assistance doing so, please send an email to jgold@ismp.org

2 posts / 0 new
Last post
Sarah Gallup
Sarah Gallup's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 week 6 days ago
Joined: 05/08/2015 - 14:37
Heparin Bolus for Donation After Cardiac Death

Wondering how other institutions handle the large heparin dose that is administered to patients who are undergoing Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD). The doses we see range from 30,000 to 50,000 units. Does nursing draw up the medication on their own or does pharmacy dispense via a high alert process? When is the medication administered in relation to the withdraw of the ventilator, etc...? We just want to make sure we have a consistent process that is safe for the patients. Thank you!