Social coordination mechanisms in the spanish transplant system

The organ donation process is complex and demands a set of highly specialized and interconnected resources that operate with clear time restrictions. This research analyses the national Spanish organ donor system from its organizational and social perspectives. By applying qualitative methodology based on the development of a Delphi analysis, the complex organ donation system is explained and success factors for the management system are analyzed. The analysis shows how the intra-hospital coordination mechanisms, promoted by the hospitals, as well as mechanisms outside the hospitals facilitate the national organization of transplants, making possible the collaboration and consensus required to reach the optimal results that make the Spanish model an international referent. Results show that a set of managerial elements constitute critical success factors for the system; these include the coordination competencies developed, on the one hand, by the National Transplant Organization, and on the other, by the hospital coordinators in organ donation matters. Factors such as the training of specialists, sensitization to the importance of donation, the management and control of information and duality in the profile of organ coordinators constitute the basic pillars for this excellent system