ABSTRACT
One of the goals of the Organ Center of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing is to increase the efficiency of equitable organ allocation in the United States. Recognizing the ever-growing need for organ donors and transplants, leaders at the Organ Center increased its commitment to quality improvement initiatives through the development of a quality management team in 2001. The Organ Center began to focus on ways to capture data on processes and pinpoint areas for improvement. As the collection and analysis of data evolved, the Organ Center embraced formal quality standards, such as improvement cycles. Using these cycles, the Organ Center has seen significant improvement. One initiative involving lifesaving heart, lung, and liver placement showed success by doubling the Organ Center's organ placement rate. Another project involving the validation of donor information demonstrated that the accuracy of organ allocation can be improved by 5% on a consistent basis. As stewards for the gift of life and leaders in organ allocation, the Organ Center uses continuous quality improvement to achieve the goal of increasing the efficiency of equitable organ allocation.
Subject(s)
Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care/organization & administration , Program Development/methods , Tissue and Organ Procurement/standards , Total Quality Management/organization & administration , Blood Grouping and Crossmatching , Data Collection , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Documentation/standards , Donor Selection/organization & administration , Efficiency, Organizational , Humans , Interinstitutional Relations , Models, Organizational , Needs Assessment , Organizational Culture , Organizations, Nonprofit/organization & administration , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Tissue and Organ Procurement/statistics & numerical data , United States , United States Health Resources and Services Administration , Waiting ListsABSTRACT
The increasing size of the transplant waiting list and the increasing use of expanded criteria donors places a premium on efficient use of recovered organs. Maximal organ utilization often necessitates organ sharing between transplant organizations. Optimal organ sharing requires rapid, integrated communication of donor information combined with expedited organ transportation. For more than 20 years, the United Network for Organ Sharing's Organ Center has fulfilled this task for the United States transplant community. This overview details a brief history of United States organ sharing and the role played by the Organ Center. The current scope and modes of Organ Center operations are detailed.
