(a) While an OPO may have more than one board, the OPO must have an advisory board that has both the authority described in paragraph (b) of this section and the following membership:

(1) Members who represent hospital administrators, either intensive care or emergency room personnel, tissue banks, and voluntary health associations in the OPO's service area.

(2) Individuals who represent the public residing in the OPO's service area.

(3) A physician with knowledge, experience, or skill in the field of human histocompatibility, or an individual with a doctorate degree in a biological science and with knowledge, experience, or skills in the field of human histocompatibility.

(4) A neurosurgeon or other physician with knowledge or skills in the neurosciences.

(5) A transplant surgeon representing each transplant hospital in the service area with which the OPO has arrangements to coordinate its activities. The transplant surgeon must have practicing privileges and perform transplants in the transplant hospital represented.

(6) An organ donor family member.

(b) The OPO board described in paragraph (a) of this section has the authority to recommend policies for the following:

(1) Procurement of organs.

(2) Effective agreements to identify potential organ donors with a substantial majority of hospitals in its service area that have facilities for organ donation.

(3) Systematic efforts, including professional education, to acquire all useable organs from potential donors.

(4) Arrangements for the acquisition and preservation of donated organs and provision of quality standards for the acquisition of organs that are consistent with the standards adopted by the OPTN, including arranging for testing with respect to preventing the acquisition of organs that are infected with the etiologic agent for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

(5) Appropriate tissue typing of organs.

(6) A system for allocation of organs among transplant patients that is consistent with the rules and requirements of the OPTN, as defined in §486.320 of this part.

(7) Transportation of organs to transplant hospitals.

(8) Coordination of activities with transplant hospitals in the OPO's service area.

(9) Participation in the OPTN.

(10) Arrangements to cooperate with tissue banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage, and distribution of tissues as may be appropriate to assure that all useable tissues are obtained from potential donors.

(11) Annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the OPO in acquiring organs.

(12) Assistance to hospitals in establishing and implementing protocols for making routine inquiries about organ donations by potential donors.

(c) The advisory board described in paragraph (a) of this section has no authority over any other activity of the OPO and may not serve as the OPO's governing body or board of directors. Members of the advisory board described in paragraph (a) of this section are prohibited from serving on any other OPO board.

(d) The OPO must have bylaws for each of its board(s) that address potential conflicts of interest, length of terms, and criteria for selecting and removing members.

(e) A governing body must have full legal authority and responsibility for the management and provision of all OPO services and must develop and oversee implementation of policies and procedures considered necessary for the effective administration of the OPO, including fiscal operations, the OPO's quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) program, and services furnished under contract or arrangement, including agreements for these services. The governing body must appoint an individual to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the OPO.

(f) The OPO must have procedures to address potential conflicts of interest for the governing body described in paragraph (d) of this section.

(g) The OPO's policies must state whether the OPO recovers organs from donors after cardiac death.

[71 FR 31046, May 31, 2006, as amended at 77 FR 29031, May 16, 2012]