Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO) Agreements with Hospitals

• OPO Hospital Agreements: Hospital regulations at 42CFR 482.45 (a)(1) require that all hospitals have written agreements in place with their OPO to notify them of an imminent death or of a death which has occurred. OPO regulations at §486.322 (a) require that OPOs have a written agreement in place with 95 percent of all participating Medicare and Medicaid hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals that have both a ventilator and an operating room. Historically, OPOs have not initiated agreements with hospitals without a ventilator and an operating room as donor maintenance cannot be accomplished in that setting.
• OPO Agreements with Hospitals That Do Not Have a Ventilator and Operating Room: While OPOs are not required to initiate agreements with hospitals that do not have a ventilator and an operating room, they are required at §486.303 (g) to enter into an agreement with any hospital that requests an agreement with them pursuant to the hospital regulations. However, for hospitals that do not have a ventilator and operating room, the agreement may be limited to notification of the OPO by the hospital of imminent death and/or death which has occurred in the facility.