Innovative technology is filling a gap at the start of the organ donation and transplantation process. For the first time, organ procurement organizations can provide a clear and confident answer as to when a team member will arrive at a donor hospital after receiving an organ referral.
Each year in the United States, OPOs receive more than 500,000 organ referrals from partner hospitals. Following an initial call with a nurse or attending physician, the OPO goes into triage mode, which includes dispatching someone to the donor hospital to evaluate the viability of organs from the potential donor for transplantation.
The timing of the triage response is critical for a variety of reasons:
- The hospital must maintain ventilated support for the potential donor.
- The patient’s medical records and relevant information from previous admissions must be evaluated.
- Proof of donor registration must be secured.
- Families of the potential donor are awaiting information about their loved one.
While OPOs make every effort to act with urgency, the triage response can be complicated by simultaneous high-priority referrals from separate donor hospitals in different geographic locations. It’s a huge “X” factor and can shake up the timing and triage dynamics of any potential life gift at a moment’s notice.
With these challenges in mind, MediGO developed an industry-leading software solution, known as Organ TeamLink™, to optimize the donation process by streamlining an OPO’s response to new organ donor referrals. Organ TeamLink helps OPOs by:
- Optimizing referral response time
- Balancing caseloads
- Synchronizing team communications
- Receiving safety alerts from the field
The development of Organ TeamLink was made possible by support from Mid-America Transplant, the St. Louis-based OPO serving parts of Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas, and its foundation, which provided important feedback throughout the design process.
“We’ve experienced firsthand how Organ TeamLink can help us fulfill our mission to increase the availability of organs and tissues for those who need them,” said Kevin Lee, executive vice president and chief operations officer at Mid-America Transplant. “We believe innovations like this will provide better line of sight that can help the entire OPO community respond quicker and more accurately to potential donation opportunities, ultimately saving more lives.”
OPOs aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit from this ground-breaking product. With help from Organ TeamLink, donor hospitals will know exactly when someone from the OPO will be on-site to help guide the donation process. Hospital staff will also know who is coming from the OPO to speak to the donor’s family about the potential for their loved one to become an organ donor hero.
With the launch of Organ TeamLink, MediGO is proud to help boost transparency and collaboration throughout the donation and transplantation process, increase the availability of lifesaving organs for transplant, and improve the experience of families whose loved ones give the gift of life.
Meet MediGO today and schedule your online demo.