Organ and Tissue Donation for Pennsylvania Medical Doctors: System, Process, and Clinical Care

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key components of the national and Pennsylvania organ and tissue donation system, including transplantable organs, tissues, and vascularized composite allografts relevant to medical practice in acute care, critical care, emergency, perioperative, end-of-life, and postmortem care settings.

2. Distinguish the major steps in the organ donation process from initial referral through surgical recovery, including the respective roles of the medical doctor, organ procurement organization, transplant team, and hospital care team.

3. Select appropriate physician responses to clinical and family communication scenarios involving prognosis, determination of death, donation-related questions, and end-of-life support.

4. Prioritize physician-directed actions used in organ donor management, including clinical assessment, end-organ support, donor-management orders, interprofessional escalation, and communication related to coroner or medical examiner involvement.

Beginning May 1, 2026, Pennsylvania medical doctors are required to complete at least 2 hours of Board-approved continuing education on the organ and tissue donation and recovery process within the applicable 5-year licensure period. This activity addresses the required organ and tissue donation content areas for Pennsylvania medical doctors. The curriculum discusses the six required domains, including the structure of the national, state, and local donation system; the tissue donation process; the end-to-end organ donation pathway; standards for determining death; family communication; and clinical management strategies used to preserve organ function between authorization and surgical recovery (Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine, 2026).

Medical doctors are present at critical decision points in the organ and tissue donation process, including prognosis assessment, recognition of imminent death, timely OPO referral, death determination, DCD pathway planning, donor-management decisions, communication with families, coordination with consultants, and handoff to the recovery team. Many physicians receive limited formal preparation in donation-specific responsibilities. They may need greater clarity on OPO notification requirements, brain death/death by neurologic criteria, donation after circulatory death, coroner or medical examiner involvement, donor-management priorities, and the physician’s role in supporting a compassionate, legally compliant donation process. Pennsylvania’s medical doctor requirement reflects the importance of consistent physician knowledge in a process that affects donor outcomes, family experience, recipient access, legal compliance, and public trust

State requirement: This course is intended to satisfy the two-hour organ and tissue donation continuing education requirement for Pennsylvania physicians subject to applicable board approval and reporting requirements.