Hospital Development

Organ Procurement Organizations rely on the strong partnership of hospitals and transplant centers to facilitate the generous gifts of organ and tissue donation.

Hospital development includes a team of individuals who act as a liaison to the hospitals in the OPO’s service area. These passionate individuals work collaboratively with the healthcare team to provide education about donation and transplantation; develop appropriate communication plans; support families; and help maximize the gifts of donation and transplantation.

OPOs also provide education and training to hospital personnel. Programs are specifically tailored according to each employee’s role within the donation process. HRSA periodically publishes hospital “change packages” to help hospitals make organ donation a priority. Previous “change packages” have centered on optimization of transplant programs, management best practices, change concepts and actions for donor hospitals, strategies to achieve joint accountability, and improvement models.  To learn more about these government initiatives, please visit HRSA.

Many OPOs also have liaisons who work closely with medical examiners, coroners and funeral directors throughout the referral and evaluation process. These joint efforts can expand donation options of potential donors and donor families, while preserving evidence for death investigations to determine the cause and manner of death. OPOs are also highly committed to serving the families of donors and work collaboratively with funeral directors to help meet the needs of each family.