In 1998 Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed regulations requiring any hospital receiving federal funding to become accountable for their organ, tissue and eye donation program. These regulations, called Conditions of Participation for Hospitals (CoP), require that hospitals be assigned an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) and that the two collaborate to increase the number of organs and tissues available for transplantation.

Below is a link to the CMS Conditions of Participation. The main points to remember are:

• all deaths must be reported to the OPO in timely manner,
• the OPO determines suitability for organ, eye and tissue donation, and
• only an OPO staff member or a trained designated staff member may approach the family of a potential donor for consent

For a copy of the CMS Conditions of Participation, click here.