Organ Procurement Cell (OPC) is being built at Lahore General Hospital, Lahore under Deceased Organ Donation Programme. The main purpose of OPC will be, to facilitate the process of organ and tissue donation from a deceased donor for transplantation.
We are planning to start it as a Pilot Project at Lahore General Hospital, Lahore and Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. The organs will be retrieved at Lahore General Hospital and transplantation will be performed at Sheikh Zayed hospital. After the successful execution of this pilot project, these types of OPCs will be established in other public and private hospitals. Donation of organs comes from a live donor (who are willing to donate organ after his/her death) and a deceased donor (who has been declared brain/circulatory dead by the Committee).
The OPC nurse deputed in ICU will identify the suitable donor after going through the record (investigation and medical record) of the patient admitted in ICU and inform Director OPC. Director OPC will examine the patient and his record. He will arrange the specialized investigations (HLA typing, hepatitis and HIV etc.). The OPC will have no role in declaring Brain-Death and Cardio-Vascular Death. The Brain Death Committee does not include any functionary in Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Authority (PHOTA). If the patient is declared brain-dead by the Brain Death Committee of the hospital. The Director OPC will motivate and convince the relative of the deceased for organ donation. Director OPC will not approach the relatives of the patient before brain death declarations by Brain Death Committee for organ donation.
Once the relatives agree for donation, OPC staff along with PHOTA team will make arrangements for the organ recovery and transport. OPC Director will search for potentials recipient from UNOs match and Director Legal will scrutinize and evaluate the process. Director OPC will arrange retrieval of organs followed by proper packing/tagging and transportation to the recipient hospital.