Organ Procurement Organization Approval Process: OPO Requirements for CTA Retrieval

Abstract

The near-total face transplant performed by a multidisciplinary team of doctors and surgeons at Cleveland Clinic could not have occurred without the help of another critical partner – Lifebanc, northeast Ohio’s organ procurement organization (OPO). While the focus of this ground-breaking surgery centered on the recipient, the procedure ensued thanks to an organ and tissue donor and her generous family.

For four years prior to the transplant surgery, Dr. Siemionow and her colleagues worked alongside Lifebanc to define and refine the process leading up to and following surgery. The OPO wanted to ensure that the highest medical and ethical standards would be maintained – regarding both the recipient and donor – before it consented to partner with Cleveland Clinic. This involved meticulous planning and work by Lifebanc in areas such as due diligence, the donation consent procedure, recovery logistics, and donor privacy.

In 2007, Lifebanc agreed to collaborate with Dr. Siemionow. “If there’s anything we can do to save or enhance the lives of other people, we should be doing it,” says Gordon Bowen, Lifebanc Chief Executive Officer. It’s a simple sound bite that summarizes Lifebanc’s position, but reaching that point was complex. The following chapter hopes to illustrate this process.