AOPO UPDATE

Vol. 21 No. 4

Winter 2006

Hello everyone, this is the first edition of the AOPO IT corner. As the new AOPO IT officer I’m pleased to be able to devote this time to update you on the latest technology news in our industry. The focus in this edition will be DonorNet2007. DonorNet2007 is one of the OPTN’s initiatives to improve organ donation rates and the goal is to have the new system completely operational by this fall with all members using the system by January 2007. At the time this article is going to print, UNOS is getting ready to launch phase I (donor data collection and exchange process) testing of this project. Phase I testing will occur in March and April 2006. Phase II (electronic notification and organ offer process) testing is expected to begin this summer and full implementation is expected to begin in late fall of 2006. The main goal of DonorNet2007 is “to create an interconnected system to allow the transplant community to seamlessly and securely exchange data between UNet and their software systems.” (donornet2007.net website) What this means is for the first time, the transplant community will be able to electronically exchange data between donor management systems and UNOS. What does this require of the community? Many OPOs and transplant centers are thinking about investing in technology that will allow them to take advantage of the new features of DonorNet2007. In the coming months technology standards and baseline requirements will be developed and shared with the transplantation community. Currently the AOPO IT subcommittee is working together to discuss this project and what it means for the transplantation community. This topic will be a major discussion point during the upcoming Spring IT meeting March 15 and 16 in Salt Lake City.

Up-to-date information can be found at www.donornet2007.net. At this website you’ll find information such as demonstrations, data descriptions, implementation timeline, frequently asked questions and a calendar of events. Additionally UNOS staff will be making DonorNet2007 presentations at upcoming regional forums.

Do you have questions or comments? I’d like to hear from you – please email me, scartell@aopo.org.