Ventilated Patient Form

The Ventilated Patient Form (VPF) collects standardized data on deceased patients who were ventilated during their terminal hospital admission and referred to an organ procurement organization (OPO) as potential deceased organ donors. 

This information will help the OPTN better understand how patients are referred for potential organ donation, and how patients move through the pathway from hospital referral to potential organ donation. Importantly, these data can be used to identify opportunities to improve the deceased donation process. 

Why is the VPF being implemented?

More than 1,000,000 patients annually are referred by hospitals to OPOs for potential organ, eye, and tissue donation. The VPF population is a subset of this total group and will be substantially smaller. Understanding when, where, and how patients referred to OPOs enter the deceased donation process will support national efforts to improve the safety and effectiveness of organ donation and procurement. 

The VPF is designed to: 

  • Standardize how patient data from referrals made to OPOs is collected and used 
  • Improve consistency and quality of national data about the organ donation and procurement process
  • Streamline data submission through OPOs 
  • Reduce duplicate data entry through OPO electronic medical record integration 
  • Support data minimization by collecting information only on deceased patients (In other words, if a patient is referred to an OPO for potential organ donation but that patient recovers and does not progress to death during their hospital admission, that patient's record is not collected through the VPF.)

The VPF and Tissue Donation

The VPF is designed to collect information about patients who may enter the organ donation evaluation process. While certain tissue-related data elements are included, the VPF is not intended to serve as a comprehensive record of tissue-only donation activity and is not required for tissue-only referrals. It is important to note that a referral initially received for tissue donation may still be reportable through the VPF if organ donation potential is later identified and the patient otherwise meets the VPF reporting criteria. 

As a result, there are situations in which tissue donation may occur but is not fully captured by the VPF. For example, a family may decline organ donation but later authorize tissue donation, or a patient may be referred only after extubation or after death and be evaluated solely for tissue and eye donation. These tissue-only scenarios are not the primary focus of the VPF and may not be reflected in VPF reporting.

In general, the VPF is intended to support data analysis related to patients who enter, or have the potential to enter, the organ donation process. Accordingly, the VPF reporting requirements are focused on organ donation pathways rather than comprehensive tissue donation activity.

Transition to the VPF 

To support implementation of the VPF, the OPTN is retiring the legacy Death Notification Registration (DNR) form and the Monthly Donation Data Report: Reported Deaths (DDDR). This change does not affect the Deceased Donor Registration (DDR) form, which will continue to be used. 

This transition supports the goals of Transplant Data Services by reducing redundant reporting, improving data consistency, and streamlining data submission across the organ donation system. 

Timeline for Transition 

  • Patient referrals on or before Sept. 30, 2026: Use the Death Notification Registration (DNR) form. OPOs must submit forms for referred patients for the month of September by Oct. 31, 2026.  
  • Patient referrals on or after Oct. 1, 2026: Use the Ventilated Patient Form (VPF). OPOs must submit forms for referred patients for October by Nov. 30, 2026.

Additional Resources

To help prepare for this transition:

Questions

If you have questions about the VPF, please email transplantdataservices@hrsa.gov. 

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