Hospitals notify the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) of the death of a patient. The OPO staff makes an initial determination about medical suitability for organ and tissue donation, then a trained donation professional (Procurement Coordinator) further evaluates the patient for all donation options. The Coordinator will determine if the potential candidate is a registered donor and, if not, will offer the option of donation to the legal next-of-kin.  The Coordinator will stay with the donor's family and provide support during the donation process. Immediately after the organs are surgically removed from the donor, the OPO staff arranges their timely transport to the appropriate transplant centers. If the patient is also a tissue donor, the tissues will be surgically removed from the patient and transported to the associated tissue banks for further processing and storage. Some tissues may be implanted up to 10 years after the actual recovery.