State Agency Manager - Tina Coco

QLD State Manager Tina Coco

Ms Tina Coco has been involved in organ and tissue donation since 1990, originally as a donor coordinator and then as Manager establishing Queenslanders Donate in 1999. She remains clinically active in donation as well as lecturing professionally and providing community education.

Ms Coco is a Registered Nurse with experience in neurosurgical and operating room nursing and holds an Operating Room Certificate. She has completed her Diploma of Applied Sciences in Nursing Management (QUT), Graduate Certificate in Health Management (QUT) and holds a Diploma of Advanced Transplant Coordination from the University of Barcelona. She has also achieved Certification as a European Transplant Coordinator.

Ms Coco has a special interest in the care and support of donor families and in 1999 received an Australia Day Award (Federal Electorate of Brisbane) for service to the community in organ donation and donor family recognition. Internationally, Tina is a Faculty Lecturer for the University Of Barcelona in Advanced Transplant Coordination Training and represents Australia as the National Key Member for ETCO (European Transplant Coordination Organisation).

She has published on organ and tissue donation and presented at international conferences as well as providing training workshops in Latvia, Germany and Malaysia on communication and family care.

Ms Coco was invited to be a consultant at the King Faisal Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh to develop policies and train staff for the organ donation program in collaboration with the Saudi Centre for Organ Transplantation (SCOT).

Ms Coco holds longstanding membership with ATCA (Australasian Transplant Coordinators Association) and TSANZ (Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand) and she is committed to ensuring high quality care to donor families and ongoing expert education for all health professionals and the community.

DonateLife Network

The Queensland DonateLife service model is led by a State Medical Director, and consists of a State Manager and six Organ Donor Coordinators and supported by an Office Manager.  DonateLife Queensland is part of a hospital based network that includes five hospital Medical Directors and ten (full-time equivalent) clinical nurse consultants across 16 hospitals.

DonateLife Queensland is supported by a Communications Advisor, Policy Advisor, Quality Advisor and Project Officers.