organ procurement organizations – Midwest Transplant Network

Celebrating One Year of a World-Class Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit

August 31, 2023/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

One year ago — Sept. 1, 2022 — Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) opened its new Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit (DCU) after years of careful planning, preparation and training on the processes and technology associated with an in-house facility. Since then, with support from many hospital, professional and community partners, we have cared for 131 donor patients[1] from 29 area hospitals in our world-class DCU. These donor heroes provided 415 lifesaving organs to those who desperately waited for a second chance.

The DCU features a seven-bed onsite intensive care unit, two state-of-the-art operating rooms, a CT scanner with technology to conference remotely with physicians, a specialty laboratory and a family support lounge for donor heroes’ loved ones to gather if desired. Patients who meet certain clinical criteria may be eligible to move to the DCU, where MTN staff members continue administering high-level critical care until surgical teams begin organ recovery.

“It’s hard to believe we have already been providing expert care to donor heroes in our DCU for a year,” said Lori Markham, RN, MSN, CCRN-K, CPTC, MTN Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer. “We had a vision to create a specialized facility in-house for many years, and seeing it come to fruition has been so powerful. I am incredibly proud of our team for all their hard work, and I am grateful for all our partners that have come together to support this new process that allows for better outcomes.”

Since the DCU opened, MTN has enabled more organs per donor to be transplanted than before, with the average number of organs transplanted per donor increasing from 3.1 pre-DCU to 3.35 post-DCU opening among the same type of donor characteristics when recovered in donor hospitals.

“We anticipated that the DCU would allow a focus solely on the process of organ donation and ultimately create better outcomes for transplant recipients,” said Jan Finn, RN, MSN, MTN President & Chief Executive Officer. “It’s an honor to fulfill the mission of MTN in this incredibly important work and also recognize the need to continue innovating and improving to honor donor heroes and their families. We are proud to see our staff and facility working so well allowing us to extend the gift of life to even more recipients and provide hope for those awaiting a transplant.”

MTN staff members are highly trained in the complexity of caring for organ donor heroes in the DCU, which was designed specifically to maximize the gift of life; this can free up critical resources in area hospitals — such as intensive care unit beds and operating rooms — to serve other patients in need.

“My team has complete confidence in sending our patients to Midwest Transplant Network’s DCU,” said Carol Perry, Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer, Stormont Vail Health; MTN Advisory Board. “The state-of-the-art facility allows MTN’s team of expertly trained staff members to provide specialized care for donors as their gifts are matched with recipients and throughout the organ, eye and tissue recovery process. Knowing our donor heroes are receiving high-quality care at the DCU allows us to dedicate resources to critically ill patients in our ICU.”

Out of 56 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the U.S., MTN is just the 12th organization with a donor care and recovery center that is not based in a hospital. Creating the DCU is one of many tactics MTN has taken to improve donation outcomes.

“It was hard to imagine the extent of possibilities and growth that would result from the opening of the DCU — and yet, as a team, we have successfully learned how to perform our own echocardiograms and liver biopsies, take X-rays and prepare our own slides for pathology, all while continuing to provide the best care possible to our donor heroes,” said Emily Freund, BSN, RN, CPTC, MTN Organ Procurement Coordinator III. “The DCU is proving to be key in our mission to increasing gifts transplanted.”

[1] All DCU data pulled from Sept. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023.

MTN Achieves Top-Tier Rating From CMS

August 18, 2023/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

For the third consecutive year, Midwest Transplant Network is ranked among the top organ procurement organizations in the country by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services performance reporting.

The 2023 OPO Annual Public Aggregated Report shows that based on 2021 data — the most recent data currently available — Midwest Transplant Network is rated as Tier 1A and is third in the nation for both donation and transplantation rates.

There are 56 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the U.S. Each is ranked into one of three tiers based on donation and transplantation rates; each tier ranking has a letter — A to E — from highest to lowest possible performance.

Incorporated in 1973, Midwest Transplant Network is a federally certified, not-for-profit organ procurement organization that facilitates organ, eye and tissue donation in partnership with hospitals and other professional partners to give hope and share life. MTN’s service area is the state of Kansas and western two-thirds of Missouri, with its central office located in Westwood, Kansas, and satellite offices in Wichita, Kansas, and Columbia and Joplin, Missouri. MTN is commemorating 50 years of service in 2023.

“It is our privilege to support donor families and extend their loved one’s legacy,” said Jan Finn, RN, MSN, President & Chief Executive Officer, Midwest Transplant Network.

“We are proud to have achieved a Tier 1A designation among OPOs. It’s a reflection of our generous donor heroes, strong partnerships, dedicated staff members, and a commitment to innovation and improvement.

“Every day, we strive to save and enhance more lives through organ, eye and tissue donation, and we will continue to focus on these important efforts on behalf of donor families, transplant recipients and people on the waitlist,” said Finn.

More than organ procurement

In addition to organ procurement, MTN:

Recovers tissues for restorative and reconstructive procedures;
Conducts laboratory testing to support organ transplantation;
Recovers organs and tissues in a state-of-the-art Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit;
Provides 24/7 response on organ referrals from hospital partners;
Has staff dedicated to supporting organ, eye and tissue donor families with a variety of resources, including a two-year donor family support program;
Shares the importance of joining the donor registry through community engagement;

Has 245 hospital partners in its service area and collaborates with five transplant centers in the care, placement and transplantation of donated organs, including Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Research Medical Center, Saint Luke’s Health System, University of Missouri Health Care and University of Kansas Health System.

Improvements to increase kidney transplants

MTN participates in the national End-Stage Renal Disease Treatment Choices Learning Collaborative (ETCLC), which aims to increase the number of deceased kidney transplants, decrease the non-use rate and increase the use of kidneys with higher expected risk of graft failure. MTN has reviewed the way it manages donors and facilitates the recovery process, as well as the complicated allocation system to identify opportunities for improved data collection and analysis to ensure more people are helped through kidney transplantation.

“By taking a closer look at our donor management, recovery and allocation processes to make improvements and changes, MTN can help more people receive kidneys to improve their health and quality of life. We recognize the concern about kidneys that affect OPOs across the country, so MTN consistently looks for ways to make improvements that could save more lives,” said Lori Markham, RN, MSN, CCRN-K, Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer.

2022: A remarkable year for saving lives

Through MTN, the generosity of donor heroes and their families touched the lives of people in need:

361 donor heroes shared the gift of life, resulting in 972 lifesaving organ transplants.
1,593 cornea and tissue donor heroes saved and enhanced lives.
MTN’s lab performed 35,145 transplant-supporting tests ranging from blood counts, urinalysis, basic chemistry panels and more.

“We are proud to be among the top OPOs in the country, yet we know that we must continue working diligently and remain open to improvements if we want to see continued success. We will always follow our mission and vision to make a positive impact on behalf of all the people and communities we serve,” said Finn.

Legislative Changes

Recently, the Senate passed the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Act, S. 1668. The legislation will be sent to President Joe Biden to sign.

If signed, the bill will modify how the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funds and manages the OPTN, a public-private network of professionals involved in the U.S. organ donation and transplantation system. Historically, the contract to manage the network has been awarded to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). The bill “expressly authorizes HRSA to award multiple contracts, or cooperative agreements to support the operation of the network and eliminates a cap on the amount of funding available for supporting the network.”

It’s unclear how the legislation might impact Midwest Transplant Network, however, MTN is supportive of efforts to modernize the U.S. transplantation system which are implemented without significant disruption to OPOs and transplant centers while respecting the charitable nature of organ donation and recovery in a way that encourages community participation and support.

Midwest Transplant Network is commemorating its 50th anniversary serving the people of Kansas and western Missouri. More than 7,000 organ donors from Midwest Transplant Network’s donor service area (DSA) have contributed to over 32,000 lifesaving transplants since MTN’s inception in 1972. Additionally, more than 23,000 tissue donors have given gifts in this timeframe, enabling nearly 250,000 life-enhancing tissue transplants for burn victims, cancer survivors, individuals with sports-related injuries and more.

Organ donor heroes from Midwest Transplant Network’s service area saved the lives of 12 people with an organ transplant in 1972. In 2022, that number was 972, illustrating the thoughtfulness of people in Kansas and western Missouri; the strong support from MTN’s hospital and community partners; and MTN’s commitment to continual improvement and saving more lives.

MTN Ranks Third Nationally for Donation, Transplantation Rates

May 5, 2023/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2023 OPO Annual Public Aggregated Performance Report, which outlines individual organ procurement organization (OPO) performance in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available.

The report notes that of 56 federally certified U.S. OPOs:

15 — including Midwest Transplant Network — are Tier 1 (26%),
18 are Tier 2 (32%) and
24 are Tier 3 (42%).

This report places all OPOs into one of three tiers based on donation and transplantation rates. Tier 1 OPOs have the upper 95% confidence limit at or above the top 25th percentile cutoff for both the donation and transplantation rates. Each OPO’s tier ranking also has a letter associated with it; A is the highest-possible performance for that tier and E the lowest.

MTN ranks No. 3 nationally for both donation and transplantation rates; it has been in the top three OPOs for both rates all three years that this report has been released.

Midwest Transplant Network’s assessment rating in Tier 1A reflects the quality, professionalism and excellence in partnerships throughout our service area, as well as the incredible generosity of organ, eye, and tissue donors and their families. It also reflects the commitment our staff members have to saving lives by honoring the gifts of organ, eye and tissue donation.

To learn more, view the full performance report.

Midwest Transplant Network Presents Awards for Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Excellence

April 7, 2023/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

Midwest Transplant Network staff members recognize their partners in saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation by presenting the annual Excellence in Donation Awards to hospitals, individuals and organizations in our community.

Based on 2022 donation outcomes, Midwest Transplant Network presents the Excellence in Organ and Tissue Donation Awards to hospitals that had a higher-than-average number of families granting authorization for donation. The organization also gives these awards to exceptional partners in hospitals; licensing, treasury and Department of Revenue offices; medical examiner officers; funeral homes and beyond. These individuals made an extraordinary contribution to Midwest Transplant Network’s lifesaving mission.

To recognize these achievements, Midwest Transplant Network provided honored hospitals and individuals with an original piece of art created by Marlene Lewis. “Hope Takes Flight” showcases the transformative power of hope and the metamorphosis that occurs when someone is given a second chance at life. Vertically, the painting is an hourglass; horizontally, it becomes a butterfly. The idea of an hourglass transforming into a butterfly serves as a metaphor for the process of anticipation and the moment when one can soar.

Midwest Transplant Network collaborates with 250 hospitals and would like to recognize the following:

Organ and tissue excellence: AdventHealth Shawnee Mission; Boone Health; Capital Region Medical Center; Hutchinson Regional Medical Center; Kansas Medical Center; Liberty Hospital; Menorah Medical Center; Mercy Hospital Joplin; Overland Park Regional Medical Center; Research Medical Center; Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City; Saint Luke’s North Hospital — Barry Road; The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus; University Hospital, University of Missouri Health Care

Organ excellence: Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Freeman Health System, Mercy Hospital Lebanon, Moberly Regional Medical Center, University Health Lakewood Medical Center

Tissue excellence: LMH Health Hospital, Mosaic Life Care, Olathe Medical Center, Saint Luke’s East Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center

In addition to hospitals, Midwest Transplant Network collaborates with countless individuals and teams and would like to recognize the following:

Individual and group honorees: James L. Cook, DVM, PhD, OTSC Missouri Orthopaedic Institute; Rev. Becky Crouse DMin, MDiv, BCC, and Rev. Josh Morris, PhD, MDiv, BCC, Children’s Mercy Kansas City; Freeman Health System Donor Council; Linda Isaac, Midwest Transplant Network Ambassador; Jackson County Treasurer’s Office; Ashish Kulhari, MD, Research Medical Center; Darryl Nelson, MD, Centerpoint Medical Center; the Nickerson family; Yvette Richards, DMin, St. James United Methodist Church; Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick, Jewish Family Services; Jim Walker, MD, Ascension Via Christi St. Francis

About Midwest Transplant Network

Midwest Transplant Network has been connecting lives through organ donation since 1973. As the federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) for Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri, Midwest Transplant Network provides services including organ procurement; surgical tissue and eye recovery; laboratory testing; and 24-hour rapid response for referrals from hospital partners. Midwest Transplant Network ranks in the top 10% in the country among OPOs, which reflects the organization’s quality, professionalism and excellence in partnerships throughout the region. For more information, visit mwtn.org.

MTN Recovers Organs From First Donor Patient at Specialized, In-House Unit

September 15, 2022/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) recently cared for the first organ donor hero at its newly opened Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit (DCU). The DCU — housed within MTN’s Westwood, Kansas, headquarters — features a seven-bed intensive care unit (ICU) as well as operating rooms designed specifically for both organ and tissue recovery. Research Medical Center, part of HCA Midwest Health — Kansas City’s largest healthcare provider — worked closely with MTN to coordinate the transfer with the gracious approval of the donor’s family.

This milestone marked the start of a new process for hospitals within Kansas and western Missouri, MTN’s service area. Prior to the DCU’s opening, MTN staff members collaborated with hospitals to care for all organ donors and coordinated with transplant centers in the recovery of organs at the donor’s hospital. Now, authorized donor hero patients who meet specific clinical criteria may be eligible for transport to MTN’s DCU. Transferring donors to MTN’s DCU will minimize the burden on hospitals by freeing up ICU beds, operating rooms, ventilators and critical care staff to care for other medically complex patients. Studies from other organ procurement organizations (OPOs) about this model have shown more organs are provided for transplantation due to the efficacy of the OPO donor care units.

“I am incredibly proud of all the hard work, research and planning our staff members and board have done over the past five years to create the DCU,” said MTN President & Chief Executive Officer Jan Finn, RN, MSN. “MTN foresaw a need to alleviate some burdens on much-needed hospital resources long before the coronavirus pandemic even hit. Now, we know we can provide highly specialized care from expertly trained staff members to our donor heroes and potentially more organs for those desperately awaiting lifesaving transplants.”

This shift comes at a time when OPOs like MTN nationwide are focusing efforts to improve donation outcomes. MTN is the 12th OPO in the nation with a donor care unit/donor recovery center that is not based in a hospital.

MTN also implemented state-of-the-art systems with the installation of a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner and cloud-based technology with the ability to remotely connect with surgeons across the country.

“This moment marks a new chapter for donation and transplantation in our area that would not have been possible without excellent partnership from Research Medical Center,” said Finn. “They were with us every step of the way. Thanks to them, this donor hero’s legacy lives on through four grateful organ recipients and countless more tissue recipients.”

“We are honored to assist Midwest Transplant Network with families experiencing one of the most vulnerable times in anyone’s life,” said Research Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Olevia M. Pitts, MD, SFHM. “Research Medical Center and Midwest Transplant Network have a rich history of working collaboratively for decades. Organ, eye and tissue donations save and heal many lives each year and we recognize, along with Midwest Transplant Network, the tremendous gift of life given by members of our community.”

About Midwest Transplant Network

Midwest Transplant Network has been connecting lives through organ donation since 1973. As the federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) for Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri, Midwest Transplant Network provides services including organ procurement; surgical tissue and eye recovery; laboratory testing and 24-hour rapid response for referrals from hospital partners. Midwest Transplant Network ranks in the top 10% in the country among OPOs, which reflects the organization’s quality, professionalism and excellence in partnerships throughout the region. For more information, visit mwtn.org. For more about Midwest Transplant Network’s DCU, visit mwtn.org/dcu.

About Research Medical Center

Research Medical Center—part of HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City’s leading healthcare provider—serves patients by providing quality healthcare services and access to advanced technology. The hospital, located at 2316 East Meyer Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, is one of the region’s leading acute care hospitals. The 590-bed facility features a broad range of specialized, state-of-the-art services including a Level I Trauma Center and Level 1 Time Critical Diagnosis services for stroke, brain and spinal cord injury, heart attack and sepsis. Research is home to the region’s first accredited stroke center. Other services include the TIA Clinic, Grossman Burn Center, Liver and Pancreas Institute, Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, 24-hour Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospitalists and Emergency Room, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Transplant Institute, fertility specialists, Center for the Relief of Pain, orthopedics, sports medicine and much more. In addition, the 25-acre Research Brookside Campus, located at 6601 Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Mo., includes an outpatient surgery center, many specialty physicians and a comprehensive health and fitness center. Research Medical Center and the Brookside Campus provide 24-hour access to Emergency Services and have many primary care and walk-in care providers who offer preventive and wellness services. For more information about Research Medical Center, visit researchmedicalcenter.com and researchbrookside.com.

About HCA Midwest Health

As the Kansas City area’s leading healthcare provider, HCA Midwest Health consists of seven hospitals and dozens of outpatient centers, clinics, physician practices, surgery centers and an array of other facilities and services to meet area residents’ healthcare needs. HCA Midwest Health is one of the area’s largest private-sector employers, with more than 10,000 employees, and the largest provider of charity and uncompensated care. Each year, we provide nearly $1 million to local charities. Annually, HCA Midwest Health invests capital to enhance and expand patient services and last year paid more than $115 million in taxes, which may go to the improvement of schools, roads, and infrastructure in the communities we serve. HCA Midwest Health facilities include Belton Regional Medical Center, Centerpoint Medical Center, Lafayette Regional Health Center, Lee’s Summit Medical Center, Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Research Medical Center and Research Psychiatric Center. Midwest Physicians, which is part of HCA Midwest Health, is a network of experienced, multi-specialty physicians located throughout the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Currently Midwest Physicians represents 600+ providers. It includes 80+ specialties, providing care in 150+ locations to serve our community. The physicians, licensed professionals and support staff who comprise the HCA Midwest Health team are dedicated to improving healthcare in the Greater Kansas City and outlying areas to create healthier communities that lead to healthier tomorrows. For more information, visit hcamidwest.com.

Midwest Transplant Network Receives Architectural Approval for Headquarters Expansion

July 10, 2020/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

With site plan approval for alterations and additions from the City of Westwood Planning Commission, Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) will soon begin construction document production for a new Donor Care Unit at its Westwood, Kansas, headquarters. Through this addition and remodel of MTN’s existing building, MTN and architecture firm Hoefer Wysocki will create an on-site recovery facility for organ, eye and tissue donors.

Currently, MTN clinicians collaborate with hospital healthcare teams to care for donors in hospitals located within MTN’s service area. The new centralized approach from MTN will allow for specialized donor care to help reduce the burden on hospital resources and enable more predictable timeframes for families and transplant teams.

“Creating this Donor Care Unit within Midwest Transplant Network is the right thing to do for the citizens of the Kansas City area and surrounding communities to improve organ donation,” said Dr. A. Michael Borkon, Co-Director of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute and Surgical Director of Heart Transplant at Saint Luke’s Hospital; MTN Governing Board Chair. “It is a very timely construction, as constraints are being placed on our ability to maximize organ donation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that ICU beds are in short supply.

“The Donor Care Unit will allow us to not only streamline the donation process, but also improve the number of organs that we can obtain from each donor because we can work through the time required to make the necessary changes to improve lung and heart function that ordinarily would not be prioritized in busy ICUs today.”

About Midwest Transplant Network
Midwest Transplant Network has been connecting lives through organ donation since 1973. As the federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) for Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri, Midwest Transplant Network provides services including organ procurement; surgical tissue and eye recovery; laboratory testing; and 24-hour rapid response for referrals from hospital partners. Midwest Transplant Network ranks in the top 10% in the country among OPOs, which reflects the organization’s quality, professionalism and excellence in partnerships throughout the region. For more information, visit mwtn.org.

About Hoefer Wysocki
Founded in 1996, Hoefer Wysocki is a multidisciplinary architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning and clinical technology consultancy known for collaborating with clients to create performance-driven solutions. From offices in Kansas City and Dallas, the firm works with clients in healthcare, higher education, government and commercial markets on projects across the U.S. For more information, please visit hoeferwysocki.com.

MTN President/CEO Jan Finn Becomes AOPO President-Elect

July 2, 2020/in News/by Midwest Transplant Network

VIENNA, Va. (July 2, 2020) — The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) has named Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) President/Chief Executive Officer Jan Finn, RN, MSN its President-Elect. This role includes significant responsibilities with AOPO — the nonprofit organization representing the 58 federally designated organ procurement organizations — including leading the strategic planning process, collaborating with AOPO councils, and advocating nationally for issues as they relate to donation and transplantation.

With this appointment, Finn will serve on AOPO’s Executive Committee for three years and will assume the role of President for 2021-2022. As AOPO President, Finn will be the organization’s spokesperson and Chairman of the Board of Directors and also will serve as a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Board of Directors

“I am honored to represent MTN, those in our service area and the entire organ procurement organization (OPO) community,” said Finn. “AOPO is actively involved in advocacy for all donor families and recipients in ensuring each OPO strives for excellence in donation practice to ensure desperately needed organs for transplantation, and I am happy to lend my voice to such meaningful work.”

Throughout her time on AOPO’s Executive Committee, Finn said she hopes to foster collaboration between OPOs to provide a unified voice as the national industry expert

“My goal is to engage OPOs with known best practices to help those at other OPOs so we all can truly maximize the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation,” she said.

About Midwest Transplant Network
Midwest Transplant Network has been connecting lives through organ donation since 1973. As the federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) for Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri, Midwest Transplant Network provides services including organ procurement; surgical tissue and eye recovery; laboratory testing; and 24-hour rapid response for referrals from hospital partners. Midwest Transplant Network ranks in the top 10% in the country among OPOs, which reflects the organization’s quality, professionalism and excellence in partnerships throughout the region. For more information, visit mwtn.org.

About the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations
The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) leads the nation’s organ donation process through innovation, advocacy and education. AOPO advances organ donation and transplantation by driving continual improvement of the donation process, collaborating with stakeholders and sharing best practices with their organ procurement organization members. For more information, visit aopo.org.

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