STA supports the gift of life through every step of the process.
Southwest Transplant Alliance fulfills the gift of life by recovering donated organs and tissues and coordinating the allocation to transplant recipients.
The power of one YES can impact countless lives.
STA’s Role
Southwest Transplant Alliance is a federally-designated nonprofit organization tasked with facilitating donation and serving more than 10.5 million people.
STA is notified when a hospital in our service area identifies a potential donor. The STA team then searches the state registry to determine if the potential donor is registered and evaluates the potential for donation for that patient.
If the potential donor is registered, the family is notified and the donation process can begin. If the potential donor is not registered, the STA Family Care team supports the donor family and consults them regarding possible donation.
STA then manages, alongside the recovery surgeons, the process of recovering and transporting organs and tissue to recipients in need of lifesaving transplants.
Determining who gets a transplant
STA is responsible for donor care, family support, and organ/tissue recovery. When our teams have obtained authorization and determined what gifts can be donated, a national database produces a list of potential recipients in order of priority.
STA then sends offers to the corresponding transplant centers for those patients. Their teams work with patients to decide whether to accept an offer. STA does not decide who gets a transplant, and the order of the list is determined by medical factor match, location, and severity of need.