Record Year for Organ and Tissue Donations Saves Hundreds of Lives
In what has been the most challenging year in public health in a century, there is still hope. Thanks to continued clinical innovation and partnership, and the generosity of donors and their families, Mid-America Transplant achieved a record-breaking year for organ and tissue donations. In total, 278 organ donors and 2,424 tissue donors throughout eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas provided lifesaving gifts in 2020.
“This has been an unprecedented year in so many ways, but I believe those challenges also shine a light on the heroes among us – from our hospital partners working the frontlines to the families who, in a time of immense grief, are able to bring so much hope to others,” said Diane Brockmeier, CEO of Mid-America Transplant. “More families than ever before made that courageous choice to donate their loved one’s organs and tissues, and because of that, thousands of lives have been forever changed. It’s truly the most powerful legacy we can give them.”
Clinical innovation continues to fuel organ recovery improvements. A state-of-the-art 64-slice CT scanner and new Panther system at Mid-America Transplant’s on-site recovery facility provides the information transplant surgeons need to make fast, informed decisions, to ensure that all viable organs get placed. Mid-America Transplant also continued to pursue non-traditional opportunities for donation, so more people were eligible to donate. For example, when a patient suffers an irreversible injury and the family decides to withdraw clinical support, donation after cardiac circulatory (DCD) becomes an option. In 2020, Mid-America Transplant saw a record 102 DCD donors who went on to provide 200 lifesaving organs for transplant.
2020 donations by the numbers:
- 815 organs were transplanted from 278 donors, providing recipients with renewed hope and a second chance at life.
- 415 kidneys, 182 livers and 69 hearts were donated, each an all-time high for Mid-America Transplant. Donations also include 121 lungs, 25 pancreases and 3 intestines.
- 181,800 people received tissue from 2,424 donors, including bone, skin, heart valve and veins.
- 908 corneas enabled vision-saving transplants.
- 86 recipients received grants from Mid-America Transplant, helping to support them and their families during their transplant process.
- 40 recipients and family members stayed at our Family House, which provides low- or no-cost long-term housing for those who must relocate to St. Louis for lifesaving transplant care.
Read more about Mid-America Transplant’s work and its donors’ lasting legacies in the 2020 Impact Report.
About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ and tissue donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ donors, recipients and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment in an effort to provide organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 58 such organizations in the U.S., and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence. For more information, visit www.midamericatransplant.org.