Health & Fitness
Procuring Organs From Donors In Riverside County: Proposed Agreement Expected To Be OK'd
A contract with OneLegacy for organ procurement in Riverside County is up for discussion this week at the county board of supervisors.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors is slated Tuesday to approve a 10-year compact sought by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department with an Inland Empire organ procurement firm for the recovery of organs from decedents received by the coroner's office with organ donation cards as part of their legacy.
The coroner's office, which is under Sheriff Chad Bianco, has maintained revolving agreements with Azusa-based OneLegacy going back to 2008, and the agency is seeking to continue its relationship with the organ procurement organization until June 30, 2036.
The proposed contract, with an estimated $35,000 annual cost, or $350,000 for the entire period, will be among the board's policy agenda hearings Tuesday at the County Administrative Center in downtown Riverside.
OneLegacy CEO Prasad Garimella said in March the firm is the only federally designated organ procurement organization, or OPO, across seven Southern California counties -- Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Garimella said service agreements are in place with more than 200 hospitals, nine transplant centers and seven coroner's offices.
The proposed renewal agreement with Riverside County contains stipulations regarding how tissue and organs are to be obtained through the coroner's office and maintained afterward until designated for recipients.
Organ donation registration is available through the California Department of Motor Vehicles and multiple nonprofit registries statewide. Prior consent is required for the transfer of vital internal organs, eyes and other anatomical elements at the time of a person's death from an accident, suicide or other act.
OneLegacy is accredited and licensed by multiple entities, including the American Association of Tissue Banks, Eye Bank Association of America, Association of Organ Procurement Organizations and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, according to documents posted to the board's agenda.
