Introduction: Organ donation is a life-saving medical procedure that relies heavily on the involvement of health professionals. They are responsible for ensuring that the donation process is carried out ethically, transparently, and in accordance with established protocols. The pace in the development of donation programs varies in different regions of the world. This study aims to present the effort of professionalization of health professionals in organ donation in Europe, Western Pacific and Southeast Asia (Asia), and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.

Methods: Several programs were implemented to improve the expertise and knowledge of healthcare professionals in the areas of donation and transplantation. These programs were diverse and offered at various levels to cater to the different requirements and advancements of the donation and transplantation communities. These courses covered fundamental aspects of donation processes such as donor identification, evaluation, and management, as well as more specific training and workshops that focused on family communication, donation after cardiac death, tissue banking, and regenerative medicine. The training was delivered through three modes, including face-to-face, online, or blended learning. In situations where face-to-face training was not feasible, innovative strategies were employed, such as virtual classrooms and internships, interactive gaming, immersive experiences with virtual reality tools, and simulations in clinical settings.

Results: Between 2019 and 2022, a total of 651 participants from 46 countries within the European region took part in courses. In the same period, 1290 participants from 18 countries in Asia and 783 participants from 13 countries in MENA regions were also trained. However, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decrease in the total number of participants trained in 2020 (n= 461) compared to 2019 (n= 918). Despite this, the training programs continued, with the adaptation of face-to-face training to online or blended modalities. In 2019, only about 20% of the activity was delivered online or blended, but this increased to 75% in 2020 and 100% in 2021. This trend seems to have continued in 2022, with only 32% of the training being done face-to-face.

Conclusions: The training provided to health professionals in donation and transplantation was evaluated both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2020 onwards, the training method shifted from face-to-face to online to adapt to the new circumstances. Despite the unprecedented situation, the quality of the training and the opportunities provided were maintained through innovative adaptations. This ensured that the training experience for health professionals was not compromised.