$106,000 Grant Supports Work to Predict Organ Travel Time and Pilot Real-Time Tracking
WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fresenius Medical Care Foundation (the Foundation) announces a grant of $106,000 to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the nonprofit, mission-driven organization that manages the nation’s organ transplant system, to help improve transportation and logistics for organ donation. The donation from the Foundation, a separately operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit of Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), will support innovative initiatives to better predict organ travel time and improve tracking using biosensor technology to ensure that fewer kidneys are discarded due to time outside the body. The logistical improvements for organ donation supported by this grant include:
“We are excited to support UNOS’s efforts to streamline logistics and enable more individuals to receive an organ donation,” said Bill Valle, Chief Executive Officer of FMCNA and President of the Foundation. “The best option to give life back to a patient with kidney failure is through transplant, and these important initiatives will hopefully create more opportunities to successfully do so.” Currently, there is no single national transportation system that can provide streamlined service moving donated organs to transplant hospitals. Each OPO and transplant center is responsible for obtaining its own transport solutions, creating a need for a centralized method to identify best practices and process efficiencies. “UNOS’s staff works proactively with organ procurement and transplantation professionals and industry experts to develop and implement innovations toward continuously improving the transplant system,” said UNOS CEO Brian Shepard. “Grants like this from the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation allow us to help professionals pinpoint needs and explore solutions in parts of the system where we haven’t previously played a role.” The organ tracking pilot kicked off in late spring this year. This project seeks to improve system-wide processes and prevent the circumstance where an organ is not transplanted due to transportation issues. As a result, the grant from the Foundation honors the gift of life by hopefully saving more lives through organ transplantation. This partnership is a continuation of the Foundation’s commitment to help the approximately 100,000 patients currently on waitlists for new kidneys. In October 2019, the Foundation announced its partnership with Donate Life America (DLA) to launch a groundbreaking national, universal living donor kidney registry and at-home testing kit to improve access to living donation. In addition, the Foundation supported the National Kidney Foundation’s THE BIG ASK: THE BIG GIVE program to bring in-person workshops to help patients connect with a living donor. To learn more about the grant from the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation to UNOS, visit www.fmcna.com/foundation. About Fresenius Medical Care Foundation About United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Media Contact: Fresenius Medical Care North America View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fresenius-medical-care-foundation-announces-grant-to-united-network-for-organ-sharing-to-improve-organ-transportation-tracking-and-logistics-301111451.html SOURCE Fresenius Medical Care Foundation |