Expand Collaboration

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The first pillar of the 50K goal is to expand collaboration across AOPO membership and among all stakeholders.

AOPO Meetings

AOPO hosts educational conferences each year, including an Annual Meeting, Leadership Development Summit, Directors Workshop, and Financial Management Meeting for OPO members and community partners to collaborate, learn, and share successful practices to save more lives through organ donation and transplantation.

Advocacy Efforts

AOPO participates in regulatory activities to share its unique perspective as the national voice of OPOs. AOPO and its Members continue to engage with members of Congress about the complex and lifesaving organ donation and transplantation process. members participate in advocacy days as an opportunity to connect with their Senators, Representatives, and staff to provide ongoing education and continue to build relationships.

National Collaboration Forum

AOPO, along with ASTS, AST, Gift of Life Institute, and The Alliance, hosted the 2024 National Collaboration Forum in Denver, Colorado, focusing on “Developing National NRP Best Practices and Approaches.”

The event brought together leading experts from various sectors of the donation and transplantation community for an intensive two-day forum dedicated to normothermic regional perfusion (NRP). Participants engaged in insightful discussions and collaborative efforts to identify and advance best practices, ensuring the continued evolution and effectiveness of NRP methodologies.

Community Connection Webinar Series

AOPO, in partnership with the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance (The Alliance) and the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT), launched a complimentary webinar series titled, “Community Connection: Interreligious Dialogues on Organ Donation and Transplantation”. Recordings of the series are available on The Alliance’s website.

SODA Campus Challenge

AOPO partnered with Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA) for their second annual Campus Challenge. SODA teams from high schools, colleges, and graduate schools hosted registration drives and educational events and volunteered with their OPO to educate their fellow students about the importance of organ donation.

Inaugural Transplant Growth Collaborative

Transplant Growth Collaboratives

In 2024, several OPOs hosted Transplant Growth Collaboratives, endorsed by the OPTN Expeditious Action Task Force. These events featured leading industry experts, including representatives from some of the nation’s top-performing transplant programs, who shared valuable insights and strategies to overcome barriers to transplantation. A total of five Transplant Growth Collaboratives were held, bringing together OPOs, transplant programs, and hospital leaders to exchange successful practices and drive improvements in transplantation rates.

OPO IMPACT Improvement Program

AOPO’s IMPACT (Improvement in Action) aims to administer an OPO needs assessment and equip OPOs with recommendations and tools to operate more efficiently and effectively. In 2024, the program educated 5 new OPOs, totaling 11 OPOs since the program’s inception.

HRSA DoNation Campaign

AOPO is a co-sponsor of the HRSA DoNation Campaign, aimed at promoting organ donation in workforces across the United States. The goal of the campaign is to increase the number of registered donors from all communities.