Organ Transplant Coordination Department of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences started to work as the first transplantation coordination unit in Iran since 1990. This department has a vital role in training coordinators across the country and in organ donation culturing after brain death. The organ transplant coordinating department including five units as in:

brain death identification, obtaining consent from the brain death patient’s family, pre-transplant coordination unit, post-transplant coordination unit, database and research unit.

This department has played a leading role in the country through endless efforts of experts and qualified personnel.

The tasks description of each unit is described below:

• Brain Death Identification Unit:
  • In-person and telephone rounds of Shiraz hospitals.
  • Tracking the health condition of patients with consciousness level below 5 with severe brain injury and giving a report to the center.
  • Recording daily activities of identifying patients with consciousness level below 5 with severe brain injury in the health care monitoring system.
  • Being in contact with the treatment team based on the training provided.
  • Assessing the suspected brain death cases reported by hospitals, including the cause of hospitalization, time of brain death, medical and non-clinical actions taken, clinical examinations and studying patient records and tests since admission.
  • Performing additional tests for patients with suspected brain death to confirm brain death
  • Having a continuous communication with representatives of providing transplant organ units in other cities of Fars province.
  • Monitoring the cooperation of the origin hospitals with the provision unit according to the guidelines approved by the Ministry of Health.
  • Taking care of brain death patients and the necessary medication-care actions.
  • Cooperating with an anesthesiologist for visiting brain death patient and presenting a care plan.
  • Having effective and supportive communication with the family of brain death patient.
  • Obtaining consent of brain death patient’s family.
  • Transferring the brain death patient from origin hospital to brain death intensive care unit.
  • Coordinating the brain death confirmation team for confirming a “brain death”.
  • Transferring a brain death patient from the brain death intensive care unit to the operating room for organ harvesting.
  • Monitoring the performance and completing the checklist of an ambulance for brain death transmission
  • Contributing in discharge of brain death patients and taking necessary steps to transfer brain death patients to forensic medicine and cemetery.
  • Monitoring the brain death intensive care unit.
  • Submitting annual PMP (per million person) reports
  • Organizing meetings to evaluate the causes of not getting to the point with brain death cases.
  • Organizing training courses about brain death and organ donation for physicians and related personnel in Fars province hospitals.
  • Participating in cultural events to promote the organ donation culture in the Society.
  • Troubleshooting the brain death recognition centers and related hospitals and transferring problems to the transplant and specific diseases management.

• Pre-transplant coordination unit:
  • Completing the organ needed patients’ documents and submitting them to the Organ Transplant Commission.
  • Filling patient documents and making a list of organ needed patients.
  • Coordinating an organ transplantation from live donor.
  • Coordinating an organ transplantation from brain death patient.
  • Coordinating to hold necessary medical commission for transplanted patients.
  • Coordinating the transplant surgery team for harvesting the needed organs.
  • Booking tickets and coordinating a driver for transferring the surgeons to the other centers.
  • Providing the transferring equipment needed for organ transplant and sending them to other centers.
  • Inviting patients in need of organ transplantation and preparing them for transplant surgery.
  • Coordinating with surgical and anesthesia team and the transplant operation room in case of transplant organ existence.
  • Reserving blood and informing hospitalize wards in case of transplant organ existence.
  • Coordinating with other organ provision centers for harvesting the organs.
  • Updating organ transplant list and renewing patient records in organ transplant list.
  • Holding training sessions every week on pre-transplantation care, including drug identification, medication and related questions, and presenting educational booklet.
  • Following up the patients’ condition and pre-transplantation tests and prioritizing documents based on patient status.
  • Presenting one of the transplant coordinators in the Commission.
  • Telephone answering the non-transplanted patients’ question and guiding them.
  • Following up the hospitalized patients’ status and consulting with transplant surgery team.

• Post-transplant coordination unit:
  • Preparing and filing records of transplanted patients after transplanting and discharging.
  • Following up the post-transplant treatment of patients in transplant clinic.
  • Training medication and any medication changes, and conducting necessary reviews after each commission.
  • Holding training sessions every week on post-transplant care, including drug identification, medication and related questions, and presenting educational CD based on the patient-educated materials.
  • Informing and posting educational materials about transplantation on the post-transplant patient education channel.
  • Following up the patients’ status and their post-transplant tests.
  • Recording transplanted patient’s tests information in the file and send it to the commission for examination.
  • Contacting the patient to inform them about the commission’s comment.
  • Presenting one of the transplant coordinators in the Commission.
  • Following up the hospitalized patients and consulting with transplant team.
  • Telephone answering to the transplanted patients’ questions and guiding them.

• Database:
  • Registering the organ donor data in approved forms by the Ministry of Health.
  • Registering the organ recipient data in approved forms by the Ministry of Health.
  • Registering data of patients in transplant list.
  • Cooperating in research projects of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
  • Research Unit:
  • Developing a research proposal on goals, questions, assumptions, sampling methods and determining sample size and table of variables and methods of data analysis and data collection tools and techniques.
  • Designing data entry file in the desired software.
  • Analyzing theses and research projects with statistical software based on the foreseen goals in the proposal.
  • Designing and editing the results of research articles.