Organ and Tissue Donation for Pennsylvania Nurses: 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 registered nursing practice.

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

3. Select appropriate nursing responses to clinical and family communication scenarios involving determination of death, donation discussions, and end-of-life support.

4. Prioritize nursing monitoring and escalation actions used in organ donor management, including bedside assessment, end-organ support, and communication related to coroner or medical examiner involvement.

Beginning May 1, 2026, Pennsylvania registered nurses, including CRNP, CNS, are required to complete two hours of Board-approved continuing education in organ and tissue donation within a five-year renewal cycle. This activity is designed to address the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing's required organ and tissue donation content areas for nurses. The curriculum addresses all six required domains, from the structure of the national, state, and local donation system and the tissue donation process through the end-to-end organ donation pathway, standards for determining death, family communication, and the clinical management strategies used to preserve organ function between authorization and surgical recovery.

Registered nurses are present at every critical juncture in the organ and tissue donation process, from the initial recognition of a potential donor to the final handoff to the surgical recovery team. Despite this central role, many registered nurses receive limited formal preparation in donationspecific clinical responsibilities and may feel uncertain about when to notify the OPO, how to communicate accurately about brain death, which donor-management targets require close nursing monitoring, and when coroner or medical examiner involvement may affect the recovery process. Beginning May 1, 2026, Pennsylvania requires registered nurses to complete two hours of Board-approved education in organ and tissue donation within a five-year renewal cycle, reflecting the importance of consistent nursing knowledge in a process that affects donor outcomes, family experience, and public trust.

State requirement: This course satisfies the two-hour continuing education requirement for registered nurses including CRNP, CNS in Pennsylvania