Local organ donation committees

The role of the organ donation committee

The role of the organ donation committee is to champion deceased donation processes and practice within hospital trusts and health boards. Additionally, organ donation committees have a duty to challenge and seek to overcome local barriers to donation, and promote donation within the local community.

There is a great deal of variety in hospitals’ experience of donation. For some organisations, donation is a reasonably common occurrence whereas other hospitals may only have two or three donors each year at most. This variation means that no two organ donation committees are the same and committees will tend to focus on different issues depending on their individual circumstances. 

Chairs of these committees work collaboratively with clinical leads and specialist nurses for organ donation (CLODs and SNODs) and the other committee members to focus on four key areas of organ donation:

Performance

To ensure there are no missed donation opportunities in the hospital.

Policy

To ensure that hospital policies and guidelines support organ donation, are up to date and are in line with national guidance.

Education

To ensure that any staff who may care for a potential donor are adequately trained.

Promotion

To ensure the public, both within the hospital and the local community, can engage with organ donation through opportunities such as the annual Organ Donation Week event.

The role of the organ donation committee chair

The committee chair of a trust or health board organ donation committee is a voluntary role, undertaken by a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds. Committee chairs work closely with other principal members of the committee, such as the clinical lead for organ donation (CLOD) and the specialist nurse - organ donation (SNOD). 

Some chairs may be associated with hospitals in another capacity (for example as Chaplains or non-Executive Directors) whilst others may be lay people from the local community.  Some may have personal experience and/or extensive knowledge of organ donation while others may take on the role with little or no understanding of donation at the outset. 

Committee chairs are responsible for championing and promoting organ donation, establishing effective working relationships with key stakeholders within the hospital setting and the wider community, and are expected to provide a constructive challenge to organ donation barriers.

Organ donation memorials

Organ donation memorials are a way to give thanks to donors and promote the value of organ donation.