Introduction:

In Chile, organ procurement coordinators are mostly nurses and the donation rate is very low compared to their population. Objective: To analyze the coherence between the profile of the nurse organ procurement coordinator defined by the Ministry of Health and that observed in the Chilean coordinators.

Material and Method:

Descriptive, quantitative study, non-probabilistic sampling of nurses who worked as Organ Procurator Coordinators in public and private care services in Chile. The variables studied were sociodemographic, professional characterization, training, structure of the procurement unit, and requirements of the position of coordinator. Data collected in October 2017, at the III National Meeting of Organ Procurement and Transplant Coordinators, through a structured questionnaire, which allows to check the profile obtained with the one defined by the Ministry of Health (MINSAL).

Results:

Organ procurement coordinators are 82.4% female, with an average age of 36+11 years. 90.2% work in a Public Hospital. 100% have an accredited nursing degree, 30% between 1 and 4 years of graduates, and 37% less than 5 years of work experience. No clinical experience in highly complex care, such as emergency units (82.3%) or intensive care (58.8%). 66.5% considered that the initial training was sufficient to assume the position.

Conclusions:

In the studied aspects, the professional profile of the local coordinators nurses differs from the profile defined by the health authority.