Transplant coordinator is a healthcare professional – doctor, nurse, allied health science graduate, or a medical social worker – who coordinates activities related to organ donation and transplantation. Transplant coordinators can either be Donor Coordinators or Recipient Coordinators.
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Role of Transplant Coordinators
Deceased organ donation and transplantation involves close networking of medical, paramedical and non-medical personnel. Transplant coordinators are at the centre of this network.
The success of an organ donation and transplant program depends on good coordination and trained transplant coordinators are the key. Donor coordinators are capable of creating a positive environment for the families of brain dead patients. Their role in counseling the families for organ donation is instrumental in making the programme successful. They also help in building a healthy relationship with the medical, non-medical community and the deceased donors’ families. Recipient coordinators educate patients about how best to prepare for an organ transplant and how to take care of themselves after the transplant.
Transplant Coordinators in India
The Government of India passed the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act in 2011 which laid down a set of prerequisites for hospitals to get registered as transplant centres. Appointing a transplant coordinator is one of the prerequisites. The Act defines a “Transplant Coordinator” as a person appointed by the hospital for coordinating all matters relating to removal or transplantation of human organs or tissues or both and for assisting the authority for removal of human organs.
Need for a Transplant Coordinators' Training Program
Providing appropriate educational programs for transplant coordinators is essential to help solve the problem of organ scarcity. It has been proven by the countries having successful deceased donation programmes that transplant coordinators can perform much better if they are professionally trained in the medical, legal, and ethical aspects of organ donation, counseling, networking, communication and coordination.
Structured training programmes for transplant coordinators are available only in a few countries like Spain and India.
Transplant Procurement Management (TPM), Spain
Transplant Procurement Management (TPM) is an international educational programme in organ and transplant coordination that counts with the academic endorsement of the University of Barcelona. It promotes knowledge transfer and development of professional competences in organ donation as key factors to maximize donor potentiality and conversion rates.
Using the “Learning by doing” methodology, TPM offers a wide range of online, face-to-face and blended courses, providing one with the opportunity to learn how to identify a potential donor and how to manage all the donation and transplantation process following standards of high quality and ethics. TPM offers programmes of various durations.
Transplant Coordinators’ Training Program, India
The Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011 has made Transplant Coordinator nomination mandatory before a hospital is registered as a transplant hospital. This means that there is a huge requirement for trained transplant coordinators in over 300 transplant hospitals in India.
To address the training needs of this cadre of healthcare professionals, MOHAN Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in Chennai, has started the “Transplant Coordinators’ Training Program”. This is the first such structured course in the Asian subcontinent. The courses have been tailored to suit the requirement of the candidates from both medical and non-medical background. This initiative of MOHAN Foundation is supported by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust.
Objectives
Eligibility
Graduates in nursing, social work, psychology, allied health sciences, as well as doctors can do the course.
Curriculum
The training modules cover the core components that govern organ donation and transplantation - medical, legal, ethical, cultural and religious aspects, grief counselling and transplant coordination. It includes didactic lectures as well as practical training. In addition, blended learning (e-learning with face-to-face sessions) is also offered.
In-house Workshops
Outdoor Training and Workshops
Besides the above, Project / Internship is also a part of the curriculum.
Faculty
The teaching faculty for the course has been drawn from both medical and non-medical background. The highly motivated and experienced faculty will not only train but also mentor and monitor the performance of the candidates undertaking the course.