Hospital Professionals

The timely referral of patients who meet the criteria for donation is essential. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires hospitals and DNA to identify specific clinical triggers to determine when patients should be referred. Please see below for referral criteria in Arizona. 

ORGAN DONATION REFERRAL CRITERIA: DNA referral hotline: 1-800-447-9477 

Refer any ventilated patients meeting any of the GIFT criteria within 60 minutes: 

G  GCS ≤ 5 

OR 

I  Injured brain or critical lung/heart condition 

OR 

F  Family mentions donation 

OR 

T  Talk of transition to comfort measures/hospice being considered 

TISSUE AND OCULAR DONATION REFERRAL CRITERIA: DNA referral hotline: 1-800-447-9477 

All deaths must be referred to DNA within 1 hour to evaluate for tissue and ocular donation. 

Preserve the option for donation by making a timely referral. In doing so, you advocate for patients, support their families, and help make the rare gift of donation possible. 

Organ and tissue donation are possible through the generosity of Arizonans and the hard work of many, including hospital partners like you. Visit our Understand Donation page to explore the donation process and learn how, together, we save and heal lives.

Each hospital in Arizona has an assigned DNA coordinator. If you need the contact information for your hospital’s coordinator, please email Contact.Us@dnaz.org.

DNA serves the entire state of Arizona, partnering with every hospital statewide to facilitate organ and tissue donation. 

If you have questions about your hospital’s donation program or processes, for general inquiries, please email
Contact.Us@dnaz.org 

For education or training-related questions, contact
ClassRegistration@dnaz.org. 

No. Registering as a donor establishes a Document of Gift, under Arizona Revised Statute §36-847(A), which makes their decision legally binding via first-person authorization to give the gift of life through organ, tissue and eye donation. Unlike a living will or do not resuscitate (DNR) documentation, which addresses the lifesaving and sustaining treatment that a person wants to receive if they cannot communicate about the treatment to be given, organ donor registration cannot be amended or revoked by family members and addresses only whether a person will be an organ or tissue donor. 

Arizonans can register as donors as young as 15½. If a potential donor is younger than 18, a parent (or other legal next-of-kin) may amend or override that decision until the donor’s 18th birthday.  

If it’s their first time registering in Arizona, they’ll receive a mailed or emailed confirmation letter, depending on how they registered. This letter or email explains in depth what registering means and offers instructions on how to view, modify or remove their registry completely.  

No matter the final choice, we encourage all Arizonans to talk with their family about their decision, so everyone knows what to expect. 

For questions about donor designation, please contact your hospital coordinator or Contact.Us@dnaz.org.  

Note: Health care professionals make all medical decisions regarding the lifesaving care to be given to patients. Donor Network of Arizona does not treat patients and does not declare death for any patient.  

Brain Death 

Brain death is the irreversible cessation of brain activity. A hospital physician, in accordance with accepted medical standards and following the hospital policy, must make the diagnosis of brain death. The American Academy of Neurology provides guidelines for determining brain death. The time of brain death determination is the legal time of death.   

Circulatory Death 

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) occurs following the irreversible cessation of all circulatory and respiratory function. In certain circumstances, patients who die through circulatory death may still be able to donate organs and tissues, helping to save and heal lives. 

When DCD May Be Possible 

When a patient has a nonsurvivable injury or illness, the patient’s family may elect to withdraw external medical support. In some of these cases, after the treating clinicians have determined that the patient has died, it may be possible to recover organs for transplantation after the withdrawal of support and circulatory determination of death. 

For DCD Donations to Occur 

The following circumstances must be present: 

• Non-survivable ventilator dependence resulting from: 
  • Permanent and irreversible neurological injury (e.g. upper spinal cord injury) 
  • Permanent and irreversible disease (e.g. end-stage musculoskeletal or pulmonary disease) 
  • Critical heart and/or lung injury 
  • Planned withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment or ventilator support

Hospital and DNA Collaboration 

The initial referral process and collaboration between the hospital and DNA are the same for any potential donor. If proceeding down the DCD pathway, there are a few key differences in the process and coordination, which DNA staff will review and guide you through in real time. 

Organ and tissue donation is guided by comprehensive regulatory standards. When donation becomes medically appropriate, organ procurement organizations (OPOs) are responsible for facilitating the process in accordance with those standards. 

These regulations ensure every donation is conducted with the highest standards of safety, transparency and respect for donors and their families. 

Federal Oversight

National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) 

NOTA, enacted in 1984, established the framework for the nation’s organ procurement and transplantation system. NOTA created the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) to ensure fair and equitable organ allocation and established the federal role in designating and overseeing OPOs. 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) 

CMS and HRSA, both agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, work together to oversee the organ donation and transplantation system. CMS certifies and regulates OPOs, requiring them to meet rigorous performance standards for donor identification, family support and organ recovery. Each OPO is evaluated and recertified every four years based on measurable outcomes. 

HRSA oversees the OPTN, which establishes policies for organ allocation and ensures organs are distributed fairly based on medical need, compatibility and waiting time. Together, these agencies ensure accountability and equity throughout the donation and transplantation process. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

The FDA regulates tissue recovery, processing and distribution to ensure safety. This includes requirements for donor screening, infectious disease testing and quality standards for tissue banks. 

Accreditation Standards

In addition to government oversight, DNA is also accredited by professional organizations that set high industry standards for tissue and organ recovery: 

Association for Advancing Tissues & Biologics (AATB) accredits organizations for tissue recovery with comprehensive standards covering donor evaluation, recovery procedures and quality management systems. 

Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) accredits organizations for eye and corneal tissue recovery with specialized standards for donor screening, tissue evaluation and recovery techniques. 

These accreditations demonstrate a commitment to excellence beyond basic regulatory requirements. 

Arizona Laws

Arizona has specific laws that support and protect the donation process: 

Uniform Anatomical Gift Act 

Arizona adopted the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, which provides the legal framework for organ and tissue donation in our state. Under this law: 

• Adults (18 or older) can legally authorize donation through the DonateLifeAZ Registry, driver’s license or state ID application, or other written documentation 
• Documented donor decisions are legally binding and must be honored 
• If no documented decision exists, legal next-of-kin can authorize donation
• Hospitals must work with OPOs to facilitate donation when appropriate 
• This law ensures your donation decision is protected and respected 

Regular Inspections and Accountability 

OPOs are regularly inspected by both government regulatory agencies and accreditation bodies to ensure ongoing compliance with all standards. These inspections review operational processes, documentation, quality assurance programs and outcomes — ensuring OPOs consistently meet the highest standards of care and accountability.

What this Means for You 

These regulations work together to ensure: 

• Safety: Every organ and tissue is thoroughly screened and tested 
• Equity: Organs are allocated fairly based on medical need, not wealth or status 
• Transparency: OPOs maintain detailed records and are held accountable for their performance 
• Respect: Donor decisions are honored, and families are supported with compassion 
• Quality: Continuous monitoring and improvement ensure the best possible outcomes 

NOT SUBJECT TO HIPAA REGULATIONS 

Because the donation and transplantation process requires donation agencies to review confidential patient information or “protected health information,” donor hospitals often ask about HIPAA. DNA is not a “Health Care Provider,” and therefore, should not be considered to be a “Covered Entity” and subject to HIPAA.  To learn more, please click here. 

DNA supports mutually acceptable forms of communication between donor families and recipients. If you are working with a recipient who would like to contact their donor’s family, please click here for some of our resources and refer to any of your transplant center’s policies.