Joint Accountability

Hospital and OPO staff members all have their own functions and areas of expertise.

The hospital and the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) are jointly accountable for following federal regulations regarding donation. It is important that all parties work together to provide quality end-of-life care for patients and their families. Ensuring the opportunity to donate is a part of quality end-of-life care. Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) have four core functions [6] :(1) clinical services, (2) hospital development, (3) donor family services, and (4) public education. These core functions are described below.

 

Four Core Functions of an OPO.

Clinical Services

Hospital Development

Donor Family Services

Public Education

Clinical Services
OPO professionals provide support to potential donor families throughout the dying process, including bereavement support. They are available at all times to ensure that the patients’ and families' donation decisions are honored. Clinical services provided by CORE are a joint effort between CORE and its partner hospitals. During the various stages of the donation process, they collaborate with hospital staff to maintain the donor organ's function, evaluate the medical suitability of the potential donor, approach families to request donation, match organs with recipients through the OPTN, and coordinate surgical recovery of donated organs.
Hospital Development
The Hospital Development role of the OPO is a specialized outreach to hospital staff. Each hospital in the in the OPO’s donation service area has an assigned Professional Services Liaison (PSL). The PSLs provide education and training to hospital personnel involved in the donation process. Training programs are tailored to the role each hospital employee plays in the donation process. In addition, the PSLs are responsible for developing effective communication plans and strong relationships with their hospitals. The goal of these activities is to build strong partnerships with the donor hospitals and, through process improvement, eliminate errors that may jeopardize the potential for donation.
Donor Family Services
OPOs offer bereavement services to the families of donors, which include grief counseling, a library of resources available to the family members, and a quiet room to meditate, read and create memory quilt squares, scrapbooks or photo albums. Many OPOs hold annual remembrance events for the donor families, and have staff available to listen to and support donor families throughout the bereavement process. These activities aim to honor the donors and build public trust. OPOs also connect donor families with recipients of organ transplants through letters or, in some circumstances, in-person meetings. Such meetings are only arranged by mutual consent from the involved individuals.
Public Education
OPOs have an important mission of public education and outreach about organ and tissue donation. Their efforts include mass media campaigns on radio, TV and print, as well as grassroots campaigns and interpersonal campaigns at faith-based events, youth festivals, sporting events, driver’s license bureaus, workplaces and other community events. The goal of these activities is to educate the general public about the importance of donation and encourage people to join the state donor registry.

The Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) provides support to hospitals at every step of the donation process.