This year, IIAM marked a decade of conducting Research Recovery Workshops. Designed to train OPO staff in best surgical practices for organ and tissue recovery, these biannual events have been directly responsible for a dramatic rise in the number and percentage of usable organs and tissue for medical research — especially since 2010.
Although this story is intended to introduce our new regional director, Amberly Jones, many of our readers in the OPO and research community are already familiar with her.
Of the 1,400 patients currently awaiting lung transplantation in the U.S., nearly 200 patients will not receive a transplant in time. With approximately 400,000 new cases of end-stage lung disease diagnosed annually, the need for expanding the deceased lung donor pool is vital.
The Washington Regional Transplant Community (WRTC) in Washington, DC, has increased the number of organs recovered for medical research from 38 in 2010 to a high of 152 in 2015.
After a transcendent experience participating in the 2016 Rose Parade, IIAM made its second appearance at the 2017 showcase event, along with another neonatal donor family.
