Journey as a Travel Organ Procurement Coordinator: Challenges & Triumphs Across California

Join us on an extraordinary adventure with Lost Girl, a dedicated Travel Organ Procurement Coordinator (OPC) as she works tirelessly to promote the cause of organ and tissue donation across California. In this video, we dive into the highs and lows of her mission, shedding light on the vital work of organ procurement and the challenges that we can sometimes face when forced to travel across a state to help those in need.
Our journey begins in Sacramento, California, where Lost Girl sets out in the early evening to travel to Fresno. Need in another part of the state for the last few days of her contract she heads out to another hotel, to make sure she is available for those in need. As an OPC, her work is crucial in ensuring that life-saving organs and tissues reach those in need, and her commitment takes her to various cities throughout the state.
Upon arriving at our hotel in Fresno for a much-needed rest, we encounter unexpected difficulties. The room’s lights refuse to turn on, and upon further inspection, we discover that the door doesn’t lock either. Despite the Marriott name on the hotel and its fascinating amenities, the malfunctioning room puts a damper on our stay.
Conversations with the hotel staff about moving to a functional room prove to be challenging. Initially, the staff is reluctant to accommodate our request, leaving us in a precarious situation. The refusal to allow a room change, despite the obvious security and comfort issues, adds to the stress of our journey. However, after persistent discussions, the staff finally agrees to move us but not without expressing their displeasure, making us feel, and specifically stating, we were causing unnecessary trouble simply for wanting a secure room.
Despite these setbacks, Lost Girl’s resolve remains unwavering. Her dedication to organ and tissue donation is inspiring, and her journey across California highlights the importance of this noble cause. Come get lost with us from Sacramento to Fresno and beyond, we witness the impact of her work and the relentless efforts required to ensure that life-saving organs reach those in desperate need.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to follow more of Lost Girl’s adventures and learn more about the crucial work of organ procurement.
#OrganDonation #TravelOPC #OrganProcurement #OPCLife #SacramentoToFresno #HotelChallenges #OPCStories #DonateLife
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Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:56 - Sacramento
2:37 - Cruising to Fresno
15:52 - Fresno Courtyard
24:13 - LeGIT Final Thoughts
24:47 - Social Media
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[@mrsshenker15]

As a liver recipient, I’d love to hear more about your actual work/the process! Not much is known about what organ procurement coordinator actually does and how meticulous the process needs to be.

[@LostGirlinTomorrowland]

Hi! Thanks for commenting! How are you doing post transplant? I love hearing from recipients as I don’t get to see that side to often and it makes it come full circle. Here is my best description of what I do.. I apologize it’s a bit lengthy but it’s such a complex job that incorporates so many variables….
So my background is nursing and stumbled into the world of Donation about 6 years ago. Every day and every donor presents their own unique challenges, and every Organ procurement organization I work with seems to have their own unique way of approaching donors. Overall the general process stays the same though.
The journey starts with a referral from the ICU, on a ventilated patient with a catastrophic injury. From there we do our own evaluations in the background looking through the medical records, talking with the healthcare team at the hospital and then make a decision about if that donor would be appropriate for donation. Then we wait till family is ready to make end of life decisions or the patient is declared brain dead. Depending on if the patient is registered determines the order of the next steps and determines how the conversation with the potential donor family goes.
If the patient is registered or if they’re not registered and family consents to moving forward we start working.
We do a whole donor work up to look at infectious diseases, we also will work to make all viable organs function to the best of their abilities. Once our full work up is completed then we’re ready to start allocation. We put all our data into the UNOS system to match with recipients at transplants centers all over. This is the part of the process where we start to see that lives are changing and the gift of life truly affects so many people.
Once we have everything allocated we work with our transplant centers, local hospitals, and our surgical teams to get an OR time.
We keep our donor families as updated as they want during this process, some want updates with any new developments some want to just know when the procedure happens. It’s all very case by case and there’s no right or wrong way to approach this … it’s whatever comfort level is best for the donor families.
We head to the OR at the designated time , and what my role is in the OR is varied at every OPO I visit. Sometimes I am just a record keeper in the OR documenting times, names and charting anesthesia. Other times we help perfusion and packing up organs and meeting couriers. The OR is a logistics dance and all hands on deck. It’s one of my favorite roles as a coordinator because you see the end result to an extent.
Once the OR is complete, we help the OR staff with the clean up process, do post mortem care for the donor and then update the family with the outcome. Sometimes this is more involved with some families. We also update the ICU staff about the outcome and thank them for all their work, they become quite attached to our donors and it’s hard for them as well.
That’s the general over view of a case and my day to day varies depending on where we are at in a case and how many cases we have going at one time.
I’m planning a series to show a little more about what I do but I what to make sure I can fully respect my donors, the ICUs and anyone else that may be working for me. Maybe a Q&A session or just some shorts to show blips from my day to day. We did do a few videos a few years ago … they may be deep in the archives… but specific questions I’m always happy to answer ❤️