What are the steps involved in organ donation and transplantation?
Hospitals notify the Organ Procurement Organization of the impending death of a patient. The OPO staff makes an initial determination about medical disqualifications for organ and tissue donation, and if there are none immediately apparent a trained donation professional goes to the hospital to further evaluate the patient and offer donation to the next of kin if the patient has not already consented to donation through a donor card or through a motor vehicle office. Using the national computerized waiting list, OPO staff match the donated organs with the most appropriate recipient(s) and arrange for the recovery surgery. They also stay with the donor’s family and provide support as long as the family wishes. Immediately after the organ(s) are surgically removed from the donor, the OPO staff transports the organs to the transplant centers, where the recipients have been readied for surgery.
