US · guidance
CMS SOM App. Y, Tag Z123
(Standard) §486.326(b)(3) The OPO must provide a sufficient number of recovery
personnel, either from its own staff or under contract or arrangement, to ensure
that all usable organs are recovered in a manner that, to the extent possible,
preserves them for transplantation.
Interpretive Guidelines §486.326(b)(3)
If the OPO does not employ surgeons or other qualified practitioners to perform
recoveries, it should have written arrangements in place with such personnel (most likely
a group of surgeons from the transplant hospitals in its service area) who are available on
call 24/7 to travel to the donor hospitals and recover organs for the OPO. Review these
written agreements. Ensure that current call schedules are available from the hospitals.
Review the sample of donor records to determine whether there were any unnecessary
delays in organ recovery due to the unavailability of a recovery surgeon or other qualified
practitioner . Review the minutes of the QAPI program to determine if there have been
any aborted recoveries due to the lack of availability of a surgeon or other qualified
practitioner.
When surgeons or other qualified practitioners are performing recoveries for the OPO
they are functioning as OPO representatives and must follow the OPO policies and
procedures. The OPO is ultimately responsible for ensuring that every surgeon or other
qualified practitioner that performs a recovery is qualified and trained and has sufficient
experience in recovery to preserve the organs properly. See also §486.326(a)(3).
History
Rev. 115, Issued: 05-23-14, Effective: 05-23-14, Implementation: 05-23-14
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-07-22
- Edition
- som-2026-07-22
- Content hash
987e6515ae0a230346693c5ea512de52e7f17ee68f360ce47d1cc6a62f6bbe69
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