Amid the urgent demand for high-quality, sustainable development in China's organ donation and transplantation during its transformation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University pioneered the "disciplinary" construction of organ donation, achieving notable outcomes. On September 1, 2021, China's first specialized organ donation discipline—the Department of Organ Procurement and Distribution (OPO)—was established, marking a new phase in hospital-based organ donation. 

Led by Professor Xue Wujun, the team innovated working mechanisms and systems, advancing four OPO disciplinary systems: a government-led, Red Cross-promoted, OPO-organized, multi-disciplinary coordinated, and team-implemented organizational system; a legal, scientific, standardized, and context-appropriate organ donation framework; a team system covering donation evaluation, procurement coordination, transplant quality, and quality control support; and a technical system for disease assessment, death determination, organ maintenance, procurement, and distribution based on standardized procedures. A collaborative model between coordinators and regional doctors was also created. 

The hospital has achieved remarkable results since joining the national organ donation pilot in July 2011 and completing its first post-mortem citizen organ donation that December. Through the "provincial OPO-Red Cross-primary hospital" linkage model, Shaanxi's organ donation rate has steadily risen. To date, over 2,000 organ donations (ranking first nationwide) have been performed, providing over 5,800 major organs and saving thousands of end-stage organ failure patients. It now performs over 200 annual post-mortem donations, ranking second nationally among single OPOs. Kidney and liver transplants remain leading, with heart and lung transplants developing rapidly. 

The department also leads the National Hospital Center project on organ perfusion, preservation, and repair, engages in public welfare via the "Cultural Heritage, Life Sailing" advocacy group, and has established over 50 grassroots service stations in the province. Moving forward, it will leverage the National Medical Center to advance high-quality organ donation, offering valuable experience for national disciplinary construction in this field.