donorcentrum

A donorcentrum, or donor center, is a facility or organizational unit that coordinates the collection and processing of donations from living or deceased donors. While the term is used in various health systems, it generally refers to centers that manage donation workflows within hospitals, blood services, tissue banks, or transplant networks. The scope can include blood and plasma collection, tissue procurement, and organ donation coordination, depending on national arrangements.

Key activities typically include donor recruitment and education, eligibility screening and medical assessment, obtaining informed consent, and performing the collection or procurement procedures. After collection, samples are tested for infectious diseases, processed into components if applicable, labeled, stored under appropriate conditions, and tracked through the supply chain to recipients.

Governance and ethics are central to donorcenters. They operate under national or regional regulations, require donor consent and privacy protections, and maintain quality assurance through accreditation standards and incident reporting. Data protection and donor safety are prioritized, with traceability from retrieval to transplantation or transfusion.

Types of donorcenters include blood donor centers, which collect whole blood and components; tissue donor centers, which procure corneas, skin, bone, and related tissues; and organ donor centers, which work with organ procurement organizations to coordinate referrals, consent, and preservation of potential donors.

Donorcenters play a key role in meeting patient needs for transfusion, transplantation, and tissue replacement, while facing ongoing challenges such as donor recruitment, regulatory compliance, logistically complex procurement, and managing the cold chain across multiple facilities.

See also: Blood bank; Organ procurement organization; Tissue bank; Donor registry.