Honor walk

An honor walk (or hero walk) is a ceremonial event to commemorate a patient whose organs are donated. The event normally takes place as the patient is transported to an operating room or waiting ambulance prior to organ procurement. It is typically held for patients on life support with no chance of survival, but can also be held for living donors.[1]

Context

As of 2022, over 100,000 people are on the national organ transplant waiting list in the United States, with 17 people dying per day waiting for a transplant. An individual donor can provide up to eight organs.[2]

Procedure

As the patient is transported to the operating room or a waiting ambulance,[3] the hallways are lined with hospital staff and the patient's friends and family.[4] The event is intended to show appreciation and respect for the patient's decision to donate their organs and may include an honor guard in the case of a veteran.[4][5]

Media

  • In February 2020, the Center for Investigative Reporting podcast Reveal discussed the rising trend of honor walks during the process of organ donation in an episode titled The Honor Walk.[6]
  • In season 2 episode 14 of The Good Doctor, a walk of honor takes place for a young brain-dead girl whose face is to be transplanted.
  • In season 5, episode 3 of The Resident, there is an honor walk for Nic Nevin who died from a traumatic brain injury following a car crash.
  • In "2:00 P.M.", the eighth episode of the first season of The Pitt, an honor walk is held for patient Nick Bradley, who died of an overdose due to the ingestion of Xanax laced with fentanyl. Despite his driver's license indicating that he was an organ donor, his parents are initially reluctant to accept what has happened to their son, but later change their mind.


  • In The Rookie’s 4 season and 17 episode “Coding,” the beginning shows a dead organ donor Riley getting an honour walk.

[7]

References

  1. ^ "Living Kidney Donor Honored with First Hero Walk". Scripps Health. May 19, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  2. ^ "Organ Donation Statistics". www.organdonor.gov. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "Honor Walk ceremonies give donor patients 'a hero's goodbye'". www.providence.org. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Lahey, Tim; M.D (April 2, 2019). "Rituals of Honor in Hospital Hallways". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  5. ^ "Marine veteran who died after battle with brain cancer celebrated with Honor Walk in Dallas". Task & Purpose. February 7, 2020. Archived from the original on February 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "The Honor Walk". Reveal. February 12, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (February 21, 2025). "Why Is 'The Pitt' So Great? Let Its Star and Creators Count the Way". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
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