About Organ Donation New Zealand

The Donor Co-ordination service was established in 1987 at the time when heart transplantation commenced at Green Lane Hospital. Today this national service is known as Organ Donation New Zealand.

Our primary responsibility is to co-ordinate the donation of organs and tissues from deceased donors in New Zealand for transplant units in New Zealand and sometimes Australia and for tissue banks in New Zealand. The donor co-ordinators provide information and ongoing support for those families who have generously donated organs or tissues.

Organ Donation New Zealand works with health professionals throughout New Zealand to ensure that there are nationally consistent and excellent processes for donation in New Zealand. We also provide education and training for health professionals as well as providing information to the public.

What we do - the role of donor co-ordinators

A donor co-ordinator is available 24 hours a day to receive referrals of potential donors. Following a family's agreement to donation, the donor co-ordinator requests medical information about the donor and liases with the transplant units and tissue banks.

The transplant units and tissue banks decide on the suitability of the organs and tissues for donation.

The donor co-ordinator then organises all aspects of organ or tissue retrieval.

Following the donation, the donor co-ordinator provides information and support for the family of the donor and for some families this support is continued for a number of years.