Published Dec. 2025
Philadelphia, PA – Gift of Life Institute announces it is now home to the Community Partnership for Transplant Growth. The Institute is assuming stewardship of a national grassroots movement dedicated to inspiring and enabling bold action to increase organ donation and transplantation.
This initiative grew out of the OPTN Expeditious Task Force, founded in 2023 to increase the number of donated organs used for transplant and improve organ allocation efficiency with the overarching goal of achieving 60,000 deceased donor transplants annually. The effort galvanized organ procurement organizations (OPOs), transplant centers, clinicians, hospital C-suite leaders, and partners around a shared, ambitious aim: grow transplantation and save more lives. Even after federal funding concluded, the movement continued — powered by national engagement, broad-based energy, and a strong commitment to maintain momentum.
As host organization, Gift of Life Institute, an affiliate of Gift of Life Donor Program, will provide the structure, coordination, and educational expertise needed to advance this work. With more than 20 years of experience delivering innovative professional training, the Institute will support shared learning, reinforce best practices, and strengthen leadership to accelerate donation and transplant growth. The Institute’s longstanding track record and international reputation for excellence uniquely position it to sustain and grow the partnership’s impact.
Building on the previous success, the Institute will work with key former Expeditious Task Force Leaders to expand this work to include a dedicated donation-focused initiative that applies proven methodology to increase authorization and deepen hospital engagement. This parallel effort ensures the same structured, evidence-based approach driving transplant growth is now also directed toward accelerating donation outcomes.
“With new technologies that can optimize organ function and significantly increase transplantation, we have an unprecedented opportunity to save more lives. But opportunity is not enough. We need strong collaboration and shared leadership across the donation and transplantation community. That is why Gift of Life is proud to host the Community Partnership for Transplant Growth: to unite our field, accelerate progress, and ensure every available organ becomes a life-saving gift,” said Richard D. Hasz, Jr., MFS, CPTC, president and CEO of Gift of Life Donor Program.
With support from the Institute, the collaboration will continue to:
• Inspire and enable leaders at every level of the transplant community.
• Drive coordinated action to grow donation and transplantation.
• Support organized state, regional and national events to spread the proven practices of high performers.
• Help key leaders in transplant centers, OPOs and donor hospitals commit to growth goals, sustained testing, and actions to improve performance.
“We can reach 60,000 deceased donor organ transplants annually if we continue to build on and augment a national leadership movement that drives best practices for growth and forges strategic partnerships across the field. The Community Partnership for Transplant Growth is designed to do exactly that. When we unite around bold goals and commit to the organized spread of proven practices, we can achieve results that once seemed impossible. This is the right work at exactly the right time,” said Dennis Wagner, MPA, former Expeditious Task Force member and a nationally recognized leader and expert in healthcare quality improvement.
Nationwide Events and Structured Follow-Through
In 2026, the partnership plans to hold more than a dozen events nationwide, convening experts and practitioners to share evidence-based practices and accelerate donation and transplant growth. Designed for active participation and commitment to action, these sessions equip attendees with practical insights and measurable goals to advance performance within their organizations. Transplant recipients, waitlist patients and donor families will remain integral participants.
Following these energizing events, Gift of Life Institute will now provide structure, supporting transplant centers, donor hospitals and OPOs in committing to spread best practices, testing and implementing changes, tracking results, and driving continuous improvement. This accountability framework represents the next evolution of the Growth Collaboratives, ensuring that inspiration and commitment to action lead to measurable impact across the nation.
“We have seen firsthand that we have a proven methodology and that this collaboration works. Now is the time to continue that momentum and elevate leadership across the transplant community,” said Dianne LaPointe Rudow, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN, Professor and Director of the Zweig Family Center for Living Donation at Mount Sinai Hospital and former OPTN President.
Demonstrated Momentum and Broad Engagement
In 2024 and 2025, 14 events across 32 states engaged:
• 140 transplant centers
• 60+ hospital executives
• 800+ transplant professionals
Participating transplant centers achieved up to 12% year-over-year growth in deceased donor transplants within six months — outperforming national averages. These accomplishments form a strong foundation for the next phase of work. As host organization, Gift of Life Institute will leverage assets, provide structure, and ensure ongoing support, enabling OPOs, transplant centers, and health systems to continue achieving — and exceeding — their goals.
“Gift of Life Institute has long been recognized for educational excellence and innovation, and we are honored to bring that strength to the Community Partnership for Transplant Growth. By harnessing our deep expertise in adult learning, we will ensure continuous opportunities to reinforce best practices, strengthen leadership, and help teams turn inspiration into sustained action,” said Theresa A. Daly, Vice President, Gift of Life Institute.
For those interested in hosting a Donation or Transplantation Growth Collaboration event in 2026, please contact Gift of Life Institute Vice President Theresa A. Daly at tdaly@giftoflifeinstitute.org.
About Gift of Life Institute
Gift of Life Institute has served as an international training center for organ and tissue donation professionals for more than 20 years. The Institute’s comprehensive, interdisciplinary resources designed to increase donation outcomes include skills-based learning, continuing education, collaborative research and consulting services. Since its inception in 2004, the Institute has facilitated more than 650 workshops with all U.S. OPOs and multiple tissue banks, training over 15,000 professionals from across the U.S. and 33 countries around the world.
About Gift of Life Donor Program
Gift of Life Donor Program, founded in 1974 and headquartered in Philadelphia, is the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware serving 11.3 million people. It works with 124 acute care hospitals and 12 transplant centers in its region, as well as hundreds of transplant centers throughout the country, to provide the most comprehensive array of services available in the U.S. to the donation and transplantation community. Thanks to the generosity of its community, Gift of Life has coordinated 14,860 donors and 41,140 organs for transplant, the most of any OPO in the country since the inception of our national donation system in 1988. Overall, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 62,000 organs and more than two million tissue transplants since its founding. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and a tissue donor can improve the lives of 100 others. Learn more and sign up at donors1.org.