Organ donation is being transformed by technology as the NHS bids to wipe out paperwork by 2020.
DonorPath, an app-based administrative system, is the result of work between NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and Apadmi Enterprise.
Launched in July, it reduces the workload for specialist nurses, allowing them to spend more time with patients and the clinical donor management team.
The programme, which is now used in 200 hospitals, means nurses can view all essential information in one location, including all referrals from other hospitals.
Matt Hunt, CEO of Apadmi Enterprise, said: “ [Nurses] have to write stuff down, they have to take it, find a computer, log on, and write all of that information down again.
“So there’s a time delay, problems with accuracy. There’s a risk of transcription errors, and the kit they’re provided to use isn’t always great.
“We worked to develop an integrated data capture solution. It makes data available and gets it into the system so that donors can go to offering, and potentially those organs can be made available.
“In reality what we helped them do was mobilise their existing organ donation network.”
NHSBT is a time-critical unit. When a donor passes away, the team have a limited time to get blood, tissue and organs to ill patients before they become unusable.
Time taken to complete paperwork is time taken away from specialist nurses that could be spent treating patients, and ensuring organs are directed to patients that need them as fast as possible.
Donor nurse Deborah Vernon even found herself using a hand towel to take notes at the bedside of patients when paper was in short supply.
She said: “Now it’s totally different. It’s totally better, as we’ve got DonorPath. I don’t need to waste time at my desk. And because it’s on an iPad, I can take it wherever I go.
“I love it. It’s a great example of how technology can aid the NHS in a genuinely positive way.”