EP 120: The Dual Role of Advocacy in Organ Donation with Hannah Boylan, Family Support Supervisor at Network for Hope

This Thing Called Life

🎙️ Episode Summary

In this heartfelt and eye-opening episode, host Andi Johnson sits down with Hannah Boylan, a Family Support Supervisor at Network for Hope, to explore the delicate and vital world of organ donation. Hannah offers a behind-the-scenes look at how her team supports families during one of the most difficult moments of their lives—navigating the decision to donate a loved one’s organs.

With a background in bioethics, Hannah shares how she became involved in this work during the COVID-19 pandemic and how her training helps her think clearly through emotionally complex situations. The episode dives deep into the concept of dual advocacy—supporting both donor families and recipients—and emphasizes the importance of accurate information, compassionate care, and honoring each donor’s legacy.

Listeners will gain a new appreciation for the unseen emotional and ethical work that goes into organ donation and walk away with a better understanding of how memory-making items like heartbeat recordings, Medals of Honor, and Honor Walks play a crucial role in healing and closure.

✨ Episode Highlights

• Introducing Hannah Boylan: Hannah shares how she discovered her calling during a clinical ethics lecture and transitioned into organ donation work during the height of the pandemic.

• The Power of Bioethics in Real Life: Her background in Bioethics allows her to step back, analyze difficult situations, and support families with clarity and compassion.

• Understanding Dual Advocacy: Hannah explains the critical need to balance the needs of donor families and patients on the transplant waitlist—both of whom deserve care, attention, and respect.
• Writing About Moral Distress in the Field: Hannah discusses her published work addressing the emotional toll and moral complexities faced by those in organ procurement—an area often left unspoken in bioethics literature.

• Behind-the-Scenes at Network for Hope: Andi and Hannah talk about the collaboration between organ procurement organizations and hospitals, how and when Family Support teams get called in, and the sensitive timing involved.

• Compassionate Keepsakes for Donor Families: From teddy bears and heartbeat recordings to Medals of Honor, Hannah shares how these items help families process their grief while celebrating the heroic choice of donation.

• Honor Walks: Some hospitals line the halls with electric candles and staff members during an Honor Walk, paying silent tribute as the donor is moved toward the operating room—a deeply moving moment of collective respect.
• Misinformation and Myths About Donation: Hannah discusses the widespread misunderstandings about organ donation and urges the importance of education and transparency in order to empower families to make informed decisions.

📝 Key Takeaways

• Dual Advocacy Is Critical: Organ donation professionals must walk a fine line between supporting grieving donor families and honoring the urgent needs of those on the waitlist. Both require empathy, ethics, and balance.
  
• Memory-Making Matters: Keepsakes like heartbeat recordings, Medals of Honor, and Honor Walks offer comfort and help transform a painful moment into a lasting, meaningful tribute.
  
• Education Is Empowerment: Combating myths and misinformation ensures that families can make donation decisions rooted in truth, compassion, and clarity, not fear or misunderstanding.

📢 Tweetable Quotes

“ It's an honor to work with people who're having the worst day of their life, right? And they're able to step away from that grief for a moment, and they're thinking about those people on the wait list…” - Hannah Boylan

“And I think to do this work, you have to be thinking about the recipients on the wait list, but you also have to know that you're providing that comfort to the donor families that you're working with.” - Hannah Boylan

“I think also, when I go into this ethics training, that it changes my mindset. I can separate myself from the situation and look more objectively. If I break down the problems and think about ethical principles that I've been trained in, and that helps me, even if it doesn't give me a clear answer, it lets me think about things in a little bit of a different way, which I find really helpful.” - Hannah Boylan

“Donation is so rare, right? We think that's important to highlight, I think that's something that people don't realize.” - Hannah Boylan and Andi Johnson

“I think donation can be scary. It's a big decision. It's a decision that can't be taken lightly. Families deserve to make the decision that's best for them, but they deserve to have that right information.” - Hannah Boylan

Resources:

Donatelifeky.org

https://getoffthelist.org/

https://www.networkforhope.org/

https://www.networkforhope.org/about-us/

https://www.networkforhope.org/stories-of-hope/

https://www.facebook.com/NetworkForHopeOPO

https://www.youtube.com/@NetworkforHope.

https://aopo.org/

RegisterMe.org/NetworkforHope