Comparison of Consent Rates between Hospital-Based Designated Requestors and Organ Procurement Coordinators

Journal of Transplant Coordination, Vol. 9, Number 3, September 1999 Establishing the Designated Requestor Program Before the designated requestor program was presented to a hospital, the OPO set criteria for participation that demonstrated the hospital’s commitment to the program. First, the hospital was required to demonstrate 100% compliance with its own policy of routine referral of every death and impending death for 1 year. The compliance was validated through a death record review conducted by the OPO. The hospital was then asked to choose participants based on their support of donation and their availability to provide appropriate support to the grieving family. These participants had to have experience working with families throughout the donation process, and have a strong personal belief in donation. Also, participants had to accept brain death and be comfortable and knowledgeable about donation issues. The participants who were identified by the hospital attended an 8-hour designated requestor program conducted by the OPO. This training, developed by CORE, is based on the foundation of assessment of the family’s understanding and acceptance of brain death and the importance of decoupling. The objectives of the designated requestor program were stated, and an overview of the donation process was presented to provide basic knowledge of the process. This overview Comparison of consent rates between hospital-based designated requestors and organ procurement coordinators