Opening a Donor Management Center

Abstract

In the United States alone, more than 100,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. In response to the growing need for viable organs to transplant, donor management centers have opened to provide care to brain-dead organ donors prior to the organ procurement operation. This article describes donor management center operations, details the opening of one such unit, and describes the results and lessons learned. More research is needed on the impact of nursing care on the specialized organ donor population.