When the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) was signed into law in 1984, it created the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) establishing an organ donation process for matching donor organs to waiting recipients. The OPTN standardized the process for donating organs across the country and created the system of federally-designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), like Donor Alliance.

The OPTN is managed under contract by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). UNOS establishes allocation policy and manages the national transplant waiting list, matching donors to recipients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. UNOS also maintains the database that contains all organ transplant data for every transplant that occurs in the U.S.

Click on the links below to follow the organ donation process step-by-step

• Diagnosis
• Referral
• Family Discussion
• Medical Evaluation
• Matching
• Donation FAQs