2025 Innovations
Innovation drives our mission to save and heal more lives through organ and tissue donation. Our investments in cutting-edge technologies and approaches are expanding what’s possible in donation for transplantation across the region. Through new research collaborations and strategic partnerships, Donor Alliance is improving outcomes for recipients and creating new pathways to donation that will benefit our communities for years to come.
Donor Alliance Advances Lifesaving Science
Behind every life saved through organ and tissue donation is a team of dedicated researchers, clinicians, and coordinators working tirelessly to push the boundaries of what is possible. In 2025, for Donor Alliance, that commitment to innovation is reflected in a growing portfolio that included 10 active research projects, each one representing a step forward in the mission to save and heal more lives across Colorado and Wyoming.
A significant milestone came with the close-out of a research project in partnership with 34 Lives focused on Acellular Normothermic Machine Perfusion (ANMP), a cutting-edge technology used to assess, preserve, and rescue kidneys that might otherwise go untransplanted.
To further strengthen its research efforts and make the process more accessible, Donor Alliance also launched an online research application through the platform Smartsheet. This streamlined system makes it easier than ever for researchers to apply and engage with Donor Alliance, because when collaboration is simple, the potential to save lives grows.
Donor Alliance and Ossium Health Expand the Power of Donation
For patients battling blood cancers and other life-threatening diseases, a bone marrow transplant can be the difference between life and death. But finding a matching donor has historically been one of medicine’s most daunting challenges that can take three to five months—a wait many critically ill patients cannot afford. Through a partnership with Ossium Health, Donor Alliance is working to change that reality, expanding the potential of bone marrow donation in a way that could transform treatment for an estimated 95% of blood cancer patients at full scale.
By recovering vertebral bodies from deceased organ and tissue donors, Ossium Health can extract and preserve bone marrow stem cells for future use. What once required a perfect biological match between a living donor and a recipient can now be achieved with partial matches, thanks to advanced processing techniques and new post-transplant protocols.
In 2025, the impact of this approach was proven in a historic milestone at Ohio State University, where a leukemia patient faced a devastating setback when their scheduled living donor was suddenly unable to donate. The medical team turned to Ossium Health, and because of a heroic donor in the region, a match was located immediately. The procedure was completed within just two days. The patient began producing new blood cells in 17 days and has remained cancer-free with no rejection episodes. The case study was presented at the American Society of Hematology 2025 conference and shared with the world.
Donor Alliance’s role in this pioneering work reflects its deepest commitment: ensuring that every donation is maximized to its fullest potential. By identifying bone marrow recovery opportunities from deceased donors, coordinating with transplant centers, and upholding the highest standards of ethical care, Donor Alliance is helping to ensure that a single donor’s gift can be maximized for patients who might otherwise have no hope.
Athletes Unite to Champion ‘Check the Box’ Campaign in Colorado and Wyoming in Donor Alliance’s First-Ever NIL Partnerships
Donor Alliance launched one of its most dynamic public awareness campaigns to date in 2025, bringing its “Check the Box” initiative to life through the voices of local athletes who know what it means to show up for their community.
The campaign united a roster of NIL (name, imagine, and likeness) college athletes from across Colorado and Wyoming, amplifying a simple but powerful message: checking YES to register as a donor at the DMV and WYDOT Driver Services can save up to eight lives and heal up to 75 more.
Among the local voices are athletes from Colorado State University and University of Wyoming. Together, the campaign’s athlete ambassadors helped Donor Alliance reach new audiences through billboards, digital media, social platforms, and community events. Through their participation in the campaign, these athletes helped raise awareness of the power of organ, eye and tissue donation to students, families, and residents across the region.