Inside the Role
Our work is at the very center of LifeCenter’s mission of saving lives through organ donation. We are responsible for acting as first assist to the Surgical Organ Recovery Specialists (SORS) to surgically recover abdominal organs for transplant and for the activities related to the surgical recovery and safe preservation of kidneys from our organ donors.
This role is not only responsible for the surgical assistance to our SORS’, but also the recovery of research organs, operating room (OR) logistics, organ preservation, and coordinating with surgical teams at our partner donor hospitals and transplant centers.
We directly assist our remarkable Surgical Organ Recovery Specialists in the recovery of kidneys, livers, and pancreata. Other organs such as the heart and lungs are surgically recovered by the accepting transplant center’s surgical team for their recipient patient. If an organ can’t be placed with a patient, it may often be considered for research. We would then recover for research and also recover hearts for the use of the valves for transplant.
Our role in managing the OR in partnership with the SORS, is to ensure the recovery process goes as planned and in accordance with United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) regulations, and LifeCenter policy. The SORS are responsible for the anatomy documentation.
We work closely with our Organ Recovery Coordinators (ORCs), who are responsible for communicating with hospital staff, determining suitability for a patient to become a donor, and working with our Organ Utilization Coordinators (OUCs) to match thoracic organs with patients on the UNOS national transplant waiting list.
Once LifeCenter recovers abdominal organs, the ORCs and/or OUCS will ensure optimal packaging and labeling in accordance with all UNOS and LifeCenter Northwest policies to ensure their safety while in transport.
This position is a great fit for someone with operating room experience, who loves to travel (as our service area spans four states), enjoys variety in casework, works collaboratively with a diverse team in the OR, and is looking for career growth opportunities.
Hear it from our team
“I assist in the preparation, recovery and transportation of transplantable human organs to their intended recipients. It allows me to combine my knowledge and background in anatomy and surgical procedures with a mission that’s hard to beat. At the end of the day, my work means another person off the transplant list and that’s very satisfying to be a part of. “ – Shawn A.
