Jennifer Moe
Director of Communications/PR
Donor Alliance
303-329-4747
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS AWARDS DONOR ALLIANCE THE ‘HEALTHCARE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD’ FOR HEROIC ACT
Dedicated staff and community braved 2009 spring snow storm saving three lives through organ transplantation
Denver—May 11, 2010—Donor Alliance was awarded the 2010 Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter at its annual Breakfast of Champions on March 18. This award was presented to Donor Alliance for its heroic acts to make donation happen for three patients awaiting lifesaving organ transplants during one of 2009’s largest spring snow storms.
In April of 2009, three patients waited in critical need of liver and kidney transplants when, nearly 100 miles away, their hope for survival became a reality from an organ donor at Vail Valley Medical Center. Organs must be transported and transplanted quickly after they become available. But with I-70 closed and air travel rendered impossible by the storm, it would take an act of heroism and teamwork to save the patients’ lives.
Donor Alliance, the non-profit organ procurement organization and American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) accredited tissue bank serving Colorado and most of Wyoming, got to work mobilizing a team including a highway escort from the State Patrol, Organ Recovery Coordinators, a transplant surgeon and good samaritan driver. These individuals made the treacherous drive from Denver to Vail to recover the organs and safely transport them back to Denver for transplant. As a result, two kidney transplants and one liver transplant occurred in Denver, removing three people from the waiting list.
“The staff at Donor Alliance demonstrated a strong dedication to making donation a reality that day for the donor family and three patients awaiting transplants,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “If it weren’t for the extraordinary effort of these two hospitals, the State Patrol, recovery physicians, transplant surgeons and others involved, these three people would not have received the lifesaving transplants they needed and donation may not have been a plausible outcome for the donor family.”
“Vail Valley Medical Center showed great dedication to making transplantation a reality as well, from excellent customer service throughout our time there, to sharing this as a learning opportunity with their staff,” Dunn added. “This case speaks to the many entities that need to come together to make life possible for another person through organ and tissue donation and transplantation.”
Donor Alliance works collaboratively with more than 100 hospitals and four transplant centers in its service area. The organization helped facilitate the donation and recovery of 368 organ transplants from 115 donors in 2009. Additionally, they reported 894 total tissue donors and an organ donation authorization rate of 91 percent, helping save 368 lives and heal thousands more in 2009. Nearly 50 percent of the 115 organ donors and 56 percent of the 894 tissue donors in 2009 were listed on either the Colorado or Wyoming State Donor Registries.
Join the 64 percent of Coloradans who have registered to be organ and tissue donors, by visiting DonateLifeColorado.org or for Wyoming residents, visit DonateLifeWyoming.org. Colorado ranked first in the nation for its 64 percent donor designation rate – the rate at which people say yes at the Division of Motor Vehicles – at the close of 2009.
For more information about organ and tissue donation, please visit DonorAlliance.org or call 303-329-4747 or toll-free at 1-888-256-4386 for more information.
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