OPTC: a challenging new role
The Organ Perfusionist-Transplant Coordinator (OPTC) role is still relatively new. What are the experiences so far?
25 oktober 2023
Viona de Moulin, senior policy officer at the Dutch Transplant Foundation (NTS). She explains why this role was introduced. You can also read about the experiences in the new collaboration between an OPTC and an organ donation coordinator (ODC).
Clear separation of donation and transplantation
'The Organ Donation Act stipulates that there must be a separation between the donation and transplantation sides. This also applies to the division of tasks among professionals. With the arrival of the OPTC in 2023, this is now well secured. Previously, both donation and the processing of the offer were organized by the organ donation coordinator (ODC).'
'Since the introduction of the OPTC, ODCs are active on the donation side and OPTCs on the transplantation side. This concerns transplants of the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, and small intestine. The OPTC works in all 4 Dutch multi-organ transplant centers that perform these transplants.'
Division of tasks between ODC and OPTC
The ODC assesses the medical data of a potential donor and is in contact with the donor family. The ODC also registers the donor with Eurotransplant. From there, Eurotransplant calls the OPTC to offer an organ. In consultation with the transplant physician, the OPTC assesses whether the donor organ is suitable and whether it will be accepted for a recipient. It is nice to have a fixed internal point of contact in the transplant center and there are short lines of communication with the transplant physicians.
Experiences from the field
What are the experiences of professionals working as OPTC and ODC? Read below what this change in the work process means for them.
Claire van der Riet - OPTC at the UMCG
'I started in the OPTC role in January 2023. In the OPTC role, you are involved earlier in the transplantation and allocation process. Previously, as a perfusionist, I only received a call when an organ was definitively accepted. Now I know much earlier that something is going on and where an organ is going to come from. This expansion makes our work a lot more intensive. Sometimes you are busy all night with the allocation part and then an organ still needs to be connected to the perfusion machine during the day. What really helps is that we can still easily ask our ODC colleagues for advice.'
“Now I know much earlier that something is going on or where an organ is coming from”
Anja Vogelzang - OC at the UMCG
'With the arrival of an OPTC, our 24-hour shifts have become a bit calmer. The donation process in the ICU now has a clearer end to the procedure, namely after registering the donor with Eurotransplant. You are then out of the picture until an OPTC calls for additional data, or when a center has accepted an organ. Then donation and transplantation do overlap again, because the ODC facilitates the transplantation side with information. Upon acceptance of a thoracic donor organ, we as ODC do accompany the thoracic team to retrieve the organ, as part of the donation process.'
“Now I know much earlier that something is going on or where an organ is coming from”
Karin Beer - ODC at the LUMC
'The ODCs and OPTCs share an office here, so we stay closely involved in each other's work. Contact with the OPTCs in the other hospitals is also going well. What I certainly don't miss is handling the offer of, for example, a donor organ from Germany in the middle of the night. Those kinds of assessments and calls with the surgeon are now handled by the OPTCs. That saves us a lot of time at night.'
“What I don't miss are the phone calls in the middle of the night to handle the offer of a donor organ.”
Organ perfusion: a technique in development
Organ perfusion is a technique that allows organs to be preserved and conditioned in a machine outside the body. Thanks to perfusion, organs that were previously rejected can be tested to determine if they might function well after all. There is still a lot of room for innovation within this technique, such as heat and perfusion cameras that monitor the condition of the organ. Hopefully, this will lead to the transplantation of even more high-quality organs.
Transparant Magazine
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