Organ Procurement Organizations

Organizations that work with hospital personnel and families of potential organ donors to determine organ donor suitability, help families of donors make an informed decision, and make arrangements for transplant programs to send a team of surgeons to recover the organs for transplantation and transport them to the hospital where recipients are prepared and waiting for the transplant operation. The federal government designates an organ procurement organization's service area and the hospitals with which it is to establish working relationships.