Opening of the first organ donation coordination office

Colette Dionne-Birks opened the first organ donation coordination office, serving as its director. Until then, nephrologists at transplantation hospitals were entrusted with coordinating organ donation. With the establishment of this coordination office, organ donation became increasingly organized. The coordination framework would continue to develop considerably in subsequent years, though the tasks, for all intents and purposes, remained the same. For coordination staff, daily tasks included identifying potential donors, organizing the logistics of donor transfer and organ procurement, appointing a resource person to communicate with families, following up with donor families, and overseeing the transportation of organs to the transplantation site.