Magnus Roseke

Living Donor Coordinator, King’s College London

 “I have been a living donor coordinator over seven years now and I am mainly responsible for coordinating the medical work-up of potential living kidney donors. My role is very much focused on making sure that potential donors are properly evaluated from a medical and psychological point of view in order to ensure their suitability for live donation.

“At first contact, I usually spend 1–2 hours with the patients explaining all aspects of the donation process, including the role of the HTA. I have oversight of the tests and processes necessary to ensure that a potential living donor is suitable.

“If, after the initial consultation, the person is happy to continue the process towards donation, we tend to start the process with a range of blood tests. If initial screening shows the donor to be suitable, we continue the work-up with more invasive investigations such as nuclear medicine tests and CT scans. We also like to give a donor some time to think things through to make sure they have made a decision that is right for them.

“The HTA’s involvement is to assess each prospective organ donation case on the basis of the evidence of test results and to ensure the donation is appropriate in accordance with the Human Tissue Act. A donor and recipient need to provide evidence of their relationship and there must not be any form of coercion involved in the process. We work closely with the HTA and with their Independent Assessors (IAs), who carry out the interviews with potential donors and recipients to work out if there are missing pieces of information or if we need to find alternative sources of information.

“The current HTA system is very efficient. As a general rule, we have approvals come through the following day after an IA interview. It is quick and flexible and the system is done online, with no lengthy paperwork. It is a smooth process which is good for us, good for the regulating authority and good for patients.

“The HTA is on the whole easy to deal with, and there is always someone at the other end of the phone. The HTA is very accommodating as well – recently, a few members of the HTA staff came to King’s College Hospital to conduct training for a whole day in order for us to get some more IAs trained and accredited. I think this shows flexibility and that the HTA wants this process to work.”