First Major Gifts Announced For Revolutionary Organ Recovery Center
$1.3M in support from the Harry S. Moss Heart Trust, Hillcrest Foundation, Hoblitzelle Foundation and American Jet brings Southwest Transplant Alliance into home stretch of completing stand-alone recovery center.
Above: Rendering of Southwest Transplant Alliance’s stand-alone organ and tissue recovery center.
STA’s stand-alone center for organ donation and tissue recovery is the first of its kind in the southern U.S. and is expected to drastically reduce the cost and time of transplantation.
Gifts from local foundations and partners will secure cardiac equipment, complete a specialized organ perfusion lab, outfit the simulation lab, and provide training space.
The four major gifts are the first public contributions to STA’s capital campaign, pushing them into the home stretch with less than $9M left to raise.
DALLAS – (Sept. 14, 2020) The Harry S. Moss Trust, Hillcrest Foundation, Hoblitzelle Foundation and American Jet are supporting Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA) and their life-saving mission with a combined $1.3 million in capital support. STA is a national leader among organ procurement organizations and will further set the pace for the industry with its new organ and tissue recovery center scheduled to open this fall. The innovative space features state of the art technology and advancements to support the unique needs of STA’s operation while providing care, comfort and tribute to donors and their families. To date, STA has secured a total of $26 million of its $35 million goal.
“The advancements we have seen in transplant science throughout my career – as first a nurse and then a CEO – have been remarkable. And this new facility will put Dallas at the forefront of organ and tissue recovery,” said President and CEO of STA, Patti Niles. “What we do every day helps save lives. Both the families who have lost a loved one, and the transplant recipients who are waiting. Compared to some of our nonprofit friends in the community, STA is very much a ‘best kept secret.’ But we know this hub of innovation will put Dallas and STA on the map for years to come.”
“This new facility will put Dallas at the forefront of organ and tissue recovery.”
Today there are 112,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list and countless individuals who will require tissue graphs or medical procedures needing donor tissue in their lifetime. An organ and tissue recovery center like this can help save more lives while delivering the speed and efficiency organ recovery and transplantation requires. According to the Mid-America Transplant study in 2014, the benefits of an organ recovery center include:
· Cutting costs associated with transplants by 50 percent
· Reducing the transplant process by five hours
· Effectively saving more organs and tissue
· Providing compassionate support for donor families
· Lessening scheduling conflicts in hospital operating rooms
Hoblitzelle Perfusion Lab
Hoblitzelle Foundation, focused on investing in scientific, literacy and educational Texas initiatives, has pledged $500,000 to fund the organ perfusion lab. The lab includes special equipment and technology to keep organs viable for transplant.
“We know STA’s recovery center will make a huge impact in Dallas and surrounding communities, as STA supports more than 10 transplant centers and 280 hospitals in its catchment,” said Katie Robbins, President and CEO of Hoblitzelle Foundation. “We are privileged to support one of the most innovative components of the stand-alone center, the organ perfusion lab.” The lab, which is attached to the surgical suites where donors will undergo operation, will be known as Hoblitzelle Perfusion Lab and serve as a best practice model for organ and tissue care during donation.
Hillcrest Simulation and Learning Lab
The Hillcrest Simulation and Learning Lab emulates a real-world environment where organ recovery professionals can be trained on complex processes under controlled circumstances. This allows STA to ensure clinical teams are fully prepared to further its life-saving mission.
“We proudly support Southwest Transplant Alliance’s simulation and learning lab knowing how many lives it can save and enhance - many of them in our very own city,” said Kelly Garlock, Philanthropic Client Manager for Bank of America Private Bank, on behalf of the Trustees of the Hillcrest Foundation. “We know this facility will have a lasting impact on our community.”
Moss Heart Cardiac Equipment
The Harry S. Moss Heart Trust, with its deep roots in research and treatment of heart disease, is funding $100,000 of specialized cardiac equipment within the center so research and doctoral staff can better study cardiac diseases and how it affects heart transplants.
“We anticipate innovative research that Southwest Transplant Alliance’s recovery center will allow and are thrilled to partner with an organization that aligns with our purpose of the prevention and cure of diseases of the heart, ” said Kelly Garlock, Philanthropic Client Manager for Bank of America, Trustee for the Harry S. Moss Heart Trust. “We are grateful to STA for providing our medical community with opportunities and outcomes that otherwise might not exist.”
American Jet Executive Suite and Board Room
American Jet is a long-standing STA partner supporting its life-saving mission through transportation.
“We share in STA’s mission and help save lives. Reliable transportation is critical to the success of ensuring STA teams and transplantable organs arrive on time,” said Roger Woolsey, CEO, American Jet. “The American Jet Executive Suite and Board Room will serve as a focal point for the corporate operation and a reminder to STA of our commitment to their mission.”
Other Specialties Inside The Center
In addition to leading Texas in organ recovery, STA’s stand-alone center will also feature areas and staff dedicated to compassionately caring for donor families including a memorial garden, and a comfortable place for donor families to meet with transplant recipients.
The Center of Innovation and Excellence is designed to nurture thought leadership in the transplantation field by hosting experts and speakers sharing the latest and greatest science, serving as a place to conduct research, and acting as a training ground not only for the center’s internal medical team, but also for the community at large to learn about organ and tissue donation.
STA serves more than 10 million people across 89 different counties in Texas. For more information on STA’s capital campaign and how you can get involved with this groundbreaking project to transform organ donation, visit organ.org/future.
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About Southwest Transplant Alliance
Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA) is a nonprofit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that saves lives by fulfilling the gifts of organ and tissue donation. Founded in 1974, STA has facilitated more than 35,000 organs for recovery and enhanced the lives of tens of thousands of people through tissue recovery. STA is among the largest of 58 federally designated, nonprofit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States, is a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and is accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO). Established in 2018, the STA Foundation provides care for families, community education, and research in transplant science. STA serves communities in North Texas, Beaumont, Bryan/College Station, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Galveston, Midland/Odessa, Temple, Tyler and Wichita Falls. For more information, go to organ.org