NB Organ and Tissue Program

Governance Structure

The New Brunswick Organ and Tissue Program (NBOTP) is a provincial program governed by the Province of New Brunswick Department of Health and operated by Horizon Health Network, in collaboration with Vitalité Heath Network.

The NBOTP Advisory Committee is responsible to provide strategic direction in the ongoing development, implementation and monitoring of the NBOTP and provide leadership for the consistent and effective donation of organs and tissues.

Divisions

The NBOTP is composed of three divisions:

• the Organ division, with offices at Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital and Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital;
• the Tissue division, located at Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital in Moncton; and
• the Ocular division located at Horizon’s St. Joseph’s Hospital in Saint John.

Each of these divisions have team members with specific specialty skills, education and training as well as individual sets of standards that direct the work they do.

The NBOTP is responsible to ensure the safety and quality of organs and tissues for transplantation from:

• donor identification, screening, retrieval (and for tissue and corneas: storage, processing and distribution), ensuring regulatory compliance with:
• Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standards and Health Canada Regulations (HCR)
• The American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) Standards for Tissue Banking
• Medical Standards of Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA)

Our Team and Services

Organ Division

Our Organ Donation Team is comprised of Registered Nurses (RNs) who work as Organ Donor Coordinators. They have a background in Critical Care and coordinate the organ donation process for all NB deceased donors. They also provide education about organ donation to hospital staff.

Medical leadership is provided by our Organ Division Medical Director, who also determines the safety of organs for transplantation, while organ donation physicians are also available to provide expert knowledge and advice to donor coordinators and hospital staff.

The Organ Donor Coordinators work with transplant programs and organ retrieval teams when coordinating organ donation for NB deceased donors. They also support the health care team by assisting with donor management and by offering support to donor families during the donation process and beyond.

The Organ Division Manager is responsible for program planning and day-to-day operational activities.

Tissue Division

Our Tissue Team is comprised of Health Care Professionals who have obtained their certification as Certified Tissue Bank Specialists (CTBS) from the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB).

Medical leadership is provided by our Tissue Division Medical Director, lead operational direction is provided by the Manager, day-to-day supervision of operational activities is provided by the Team Lead, and the Resource Nurse coordinates day-to-day quality activities.

Non-ocular tissues (e.g. bones and tendons) are recovered, assessed, processed (into surgical grafts) by our Certified Tissue Bank Specialists and are released for transplant by our Medical Director.

The Tissue Bank Specialists work directly with health care providers (and coroners, pathologists and others as applicable) as well as with donor families in coordinating and supporting tissue donation in NB.

Ocular Division

Our Ocular Team is comprised of RNs and LPNs who work as Certified Eye Bank Technicians (CEBTs). They have obtained certification as a CEBT through the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA).

Medical leadership is provided by our Ocular Division Medical Director (Corneal Transplant Surgeon). The Ocular Division Manager is responsible for program planning and day-to-day operational activities.

Corneas are recovered by NBOTP-trained Eye Bank Technicians (LPNs and RNs) throughout NB and are assessed and released for transplant by our Ocular Division Certified Eye Bank Technicians under the supervision of our Medical Director. The Ocular Division is responsible for and oversees the training and annual certification of Eye Bank Technicians.

The Ocular Team and Eye Bank Technicians also work directly with health care providers (and coroners, pathologists and others as applicable) as well as with donor families in coordinating and supporting eye (cornea) donation in NB.

Other program team members

Administrative Assistants: NBOTP operations are supported by our Administrative Assistants.

Administrative Director: The Administrative Director works in partnership with the NBOTP management team, medical directors and staff members as well as provincial stakeholders to establish and maintain a process to coordinate organ and tissue donation and recovery for all NB deceased donors. The Administrative Director is responsible and accountable for the overall delivery of organ and tissue donation within allocated resources and in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Quality Supervisor: The Quality Supervisor provides supervision for all quality activities and quality improvement activities performed as part of the NBTOP Quality Assurance Program and ensures compliance with relevant regulations and standards across all three divisions.