Hospital Staff Line Up For Walk Of Honour For Dying Organ Donor

Medical staff ceased all duties to line the walls of a hospital to pay their respects to a dying organ donor as a way to mark his 'incredible gift of life'.

Staff at St. Luke's Hospital in Meridian, Idaho, began honouring the process of organ donation with what they call the 'Walk of Respect'.

Seeing staff from all departments of the hospital joining side-by-side with family and friends of the donor, all stand in complete silence as the donor is wheeled from the Intensive Care Unit to the Operating Room to have life support withdrawn.

The 53-year-old man - who's family asked for his identity to remain anonymous - agreed to donate his organs after his passing.

The 'Walk of Respect' is something which is arranged for every organ donation, and the tradition was captured on video last week.

According to the MailOnline, it is unclear what organs the man donated, or what illness he was suffering from before his life support was withdrawn. But the footage has been released by the hospital in a tribute to the patient.

The video shows the man surrounded by staff and relatives who have been caring for him throughout his illness. They stood as he took his final journey.

Medics standing in the halls were close to tears as, on Saturday September 27, the man became the second donor that week to receive the tribute.

Public relations manager, Anita Kissee, who captured the video, said: "[I] was moved by the number of people who made a point to be there. There were not a lot of dry eyes - I too was wiping my tears.

"What a privilege to be invited to be there in that moving moment."

Ms Kissee also thanked the family of the patient for allowing and agreeing to the video being shared on social media.

A spokesperson for St. Luke's Health System added: "It's a way to pay tribute to the patient, their incredible gift of life, and support the family during a deeply emotional time.

"The employees who are available at the time all gather on the fourth floor and line the halls from the ICU to the elevator. We had two this week, which is unusual. Each of our hospitals have their own version of this, but Meridian is the largest."

According to Faithwire, the man's organs have been donated to the Pacific Northwest Transplant Bank.

Featured Image Credit: Storytrender

Topics: Hospital, Feels, Community

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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