University Health automates organ donor referrals to boost transplant rates

The transition to automated alerts addresses a significant bottleneck in transplant medicine, where clinical staff previously relied on time-consuming manual processes to notify the organ procurement organization. Because federal regulations require hospitals to report every potential donor, the new system embeds clinical criteria directly into the existing electronic health record workflow. When a patient meets these markers, data transmits instantly to the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance via the iTransplant platform.

This shift offers measurable relief for bedside staff. Hospitals utilizing the technology have reduced referral times by 10 to 20 minutes per case, reclaiming over 10,000 hours of nursing time nationwide. For the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, which serves 56 counties across Central and South Texas, the implementation provides a more reliable pipeline for organ recovery, directly supporting the more than 100,000 Americans currently on the national transplant waiting list.