Disposition 9
The purpose of Disposition 9 is to ensure an organ procurement organization is notified of deaths pronounced in the field by EMS is order to:
- Honor the decedent’s registered declaration of eye and/or tissue donation
- Preserve family’s opportunity to support eye and/or tissue donation
- Serve the public health by facilitating eye and tissue donation
When cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic life support (BLS), and other advanced life support (ALS) interventions are withheld or discontinued on scene, EMS will report the death to the appropriate organ procurement organization servicing the county where death occurred in a timely manner. EMS will share information relevant to the donation process with the appropriate organ procurement organization.
Download: Disposition 9 Notification Policy (2021)
Source: North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians
HIPPA Compliance
Section 164.512.6 (h) covers use and disclosures for which consent, and authorization, or opportunity to agree or object is not required. “A covered entity may use or disclose protected health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of cadaveric organs, eyes, or tissue for the purpose of facilitating organ, eye, or tissue donation and transplantation.”
NC Legislation
The Heart Prevails was signed into law in North Carolina in 2007 establishing the heart on a driver’s license as a legally binding indication of a person’s decision to be an organ donor.