What is an Organ Procurement Organization?
Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs for short because I’m feeling lazy after a few days in the air) are not-for-profit companies that are responsible for “hosting” organ donation at hospitals or their procurement centers in their federally designated territories. There are 56 OPOs in the United States, meaning that some states like my home state of Ohio have multiple OPOs in a state. These organizations are made up of various medical and social personnel that handle all things organ donation.
What starts the process?
The whole process starts when the clinical triggers have been met on a patient at a hospital that indicates that they may a candidate for donation. When someone is admitted to the hospital with a non-survivable injury, hospital staff calls the OPO and reports the patient to them. At this point, the OPO reviews the patient chart and determines whether or not they want to follow the patient for possible organ or tissue donation (more on this in a later post). If the patient is deemed a possible candidate for donation by the OPO, the OPO will send out a representative to speak with the family/legal next-of-kin (NOK) about the opportunity for their loved one to become an organ donor.
The OPO’s role in donation:
The organ donation process is a very complex clinical, logistical, and social event that requires many different types of staff members. Though OPOs across the country have various terms for all of these members, the general concept is the same. These team members include:
Donor Referral Coordinators: Call center personnel that take the initial calls from hospitals.
Family Support Liaisons: OPO representatives that speak to families of potential organ donors.
Procurement Transplant Coordinators: OPO personnel responsible for managing the donor in the ICU and down in the OR during procurement as well as pre and post OR organ allocation.
Organ Recovery Coordinators: Team members dedicated to OR operations, organ preservation including organ pumps, and sometimes organ allocation.
Tissue Recovery Specialists: OPO staff members dedicated to the recovery of donor tissues for transplant – explained in a later post.
More to come!
I will be providing more articles in this blog in the near future that will explain more complex topics related to donation. Hop over to the Frequently Asked Questions page to see more info. If you have a question you’d like me to answer, feel free to jump over to my Contact Page and submit a question!
Thanks for reading!
