Organ, eye and tissue donation can be an infrequent but high-impact occurrence in community hospitals. In an effort to enhance collaborations between community hospitals and their local organ procurement organization (OPO), and to increase donation performance, The Alliance Donation Leadership Council has developed a Community Hospital Resource Guide – a comprehensive, electronic resource designed to:
- Increase awareness of hospital data measuring donation performance
- Provide essential education on donor management processes and practices
- Provide model practices for collaboration and communication between OPOs and hospitals, including implementation of interdisciplinary donation councils
- Offer suggested resources for donation education
The guide includes five essential areas of focus to develop a successful organ, eye and tissue donation program within your hospital, and help ensure regulatory and accreditation compliance. Utilizing the principles outlined in this guide, your local OPO will be able to guide you and be an excellent partner in helping you to develop a robust organ, eye and tissue donation program.
Through a series of CEO fact-finding questions, this guide invites hospital senior leaders to critically evaluate their organ, eye, and tissue donation program in relation to the five essentials, and suggestions on ways to partner and collaborate with your local OPO.
Five Essential Areas of Focus
- Serving the Community: Creating a culture of donation throughout the hospital and community
- Regulatory Compliance and Legal Considerations: Survey readiness – requirements for hospital compliance with donation related regulations and accreditation standards
- Patient Safety and Quality End-of-Life Care: Providing optimal critical care for patient recovery while also preserving the opportunity for donation
- Creating a Culture of Collaboration: Engaging key hospital stakeholders, identifying donation champions, and establishing a donation council to serve as a collaborative communication forum between hospital and OPO
- Continuous Quality Improvement Activities: Implementation of continuous quality improvement through critical assessment and innovation in the hospital organ, eye and tissue donation program A brief outline of model elements for each essential is provided. Each essential is hyperlinked to a detailed chapter for more in-depth information, details, published references, guidance documents, resource tools, and glossary of terms and acronyms.
