By Caroline Miller, Marketing & Communications Specialist
Jerome Howard has been in the donation and transplantation field for almost two decades. He started his career at the Georgia Eye Bank, finding the job listing in a newspaper.
“It caught my eye, and I thought eye donation, cornea transplants, helping people with sight, was really interesting,” Jerome said. “I didn’t even know you could transplant corneas. Once you get introduced to it, it's so fascinating. It's such a unique set of people that this field attracts.”
After seven years at the eye bank, Jerome is now in his thirteenth year at Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network in Illinois as a Donor Resource Center Supervisor.
Gift of Hope carries out the wishes of life-giving organ and tissue donors, serving donor families in the northern three-quarters of Illinois and northwest Indiana. Since 1986, Gift of Hope has coordinated donations that have saved the lives of more than 26,000 organ transplant recipients and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of tissue recipients.
Gift of Hope is one of Eversight’s partner organ procurement organizations, or OPOs. The two organizations work together to maximize the gift of sight and change as many lives as possible through donation, transplantation and research.
Jerome Howard is one part in this cycle of sight and giving. As a Donor Resource Center Supervisor, he oversees Gift of Hope’s night staff of 16 and has three main responsibilities: intake, logistics and authorization.
His intake staff receive the time of death calls, vetting calls and pending death calls. They then screen a patient's eligibility and determine if they can be an eye, organ and/or tissue donor.
“That’s when our partnership comes in with Eversight,” Jerome said. “We update Eversight on any shared cases at different points in this process to let them know how the particular case is going.”
When it comes to logistics, staff coordinate the transportation of donors throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana. These team members are the point of contact for hospitals, funeral homes, eye banks and other facilities to make sure donation moves forward and every gift is honored.
“We're basically the communication hub for our partner agencies and our biggest partner is Eversight,” he said.
Lastly, the authorization team members speak with donor families, making them aware of the possibility of their loved one’s gift and whether they are eligible for eye, organ and/or tissue donation. After they confirm the planned gifts, Gift of Hope team members communicate with Eversight to continue the recovery process.
Gift of Hope and Eversight are constantly communicating to try to ensure each donor’s gift is fulfilled, whether that be for transplantation, research or education.
“The standard is really set up by Eversight,” Jerome said. “If we have somebody that is a registered donor, we want to know about that right away, and it's important for Eversight.”
If Jerome’s staff receive any information or refusals on a case, whether it’s from a coroner or funeral home, they pass those messages to Eversight to always keep the case updated.
“It's really important that this relationship works well because it's for the benefit of donors and donor families and recipients,” he said. “I believe both sides really take a conscious effort to make sure that we are doing the best for our donor families.”
Jerome believes the partnership between Eversight and Gift of Hope remains strong because it directly impacts people, specifically recipients.
“It's important that that is the forefront of our communication–to save and enhance the lives of our community,” he said.
Being there for his community, through his work in the donation and transplantation field, is Jerome’s favorite thing about what he does.
“When the first time they hear about Eversight or Gift of Hope, it's when they need us,” he said. “It's when they need a corneal transplant. It's when they need a tissue graft. It's when they need a liver transplant. And so, to help the community, and they didn't even know we existed, is amazing.”
Jerome also enjoys educating those around him who are just starting in the field.
“I like to use what I know and help others that are coming up and may not understand a process or explain it to them where they can understand it in day-to-day terms,” he said.
If you don’t come from a background in donation and transplantation, the procedures, processes and terminology can feel intimidating in the beginning. Jerome uses his years of experience and expertise to help new team members understand the ‘why’ behind everything they do.
“There are very specific terms and concepts that cycle down to each eye bank or physician or ophthalmologist and the things they particularly want and explaining it to someone who's new or just doesn't understand the process gets their mind to grind the gears to figure out the why it’s important,” he said.
With this knowledge, he is also able to bust any myths or misconceptions around donation to families who may need clarification on processes or confirmation that Gift of Hope and organizations like it, care for their loved one and only want to honor their decision to be a donor.
“We're advocates for this person,” Jerome said. “That may feel different for some people because they're used to advocating for their family, but in this moment, we're the ones that can advocate for the deceased. If they wanted to be a tissue or an eye donor, and their next of kin is unaware or uninterested, it's our moment to speak up for those who can't because they're no longer here.”
Having conversations with families who have heard misconceptions about donation and being able to answer any questions to help alleviate their fears, is a privilege for Jerome.
“There's a group of individuals working around the clock to be there for them when they have a need for corneal tissue,” he said. “Know that we are here to serve the community and be ready to help them in their need.”
Jerome has stayed in this field because he is astounded by the human spirit to help others, and he’s seen it time and again.
“How someone, on the day they lose probably the closest person on earth to them–their husband, their wife, their son or daughter–and in that moment, they're able to have a conversation with a complete stranger about something that they probably knew nothing about, and in that devastation still want to give and help and be a part of humanity–it’s amazing.”
