ANN ARBOR, MI-Today, the University of Michigan Health System Transplant Center will be recognized by United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson as one of the top transplant hospitals in the country, and the best in Michigan , for its significant effort to increase the organ donation rate. Secretary Thompson will honor the U-M Transplant Center , along with Gift of Life Michigan, via a satellite video conference at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn at 1:45 p.m.

In 2003, the U-M Transplant Center and Gift of Life Michigan joined Secretary Thompson's Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative t o combat the growing disparity between the supply and demand of organs for transplantation in the U.S.

As a result of this collaboration, the U-M Transplant Center raised the organ donation rate, or conversion rate, at UMHS to 91 percent in the past year, making it the leading transplant center in Michigan. Overall, the U-M Transplant Center 's and Gift of Life's joint efforts resulted in 97 organs for transplantation: 52 kidneys, 20 livers, seven hearts, 10 lungs, seven pancreases and one small bowel donation.

Jeffrey D. Punch, M.D., F.A.C.S., director of the UMHS Transplantation Division, credits the growth to an increased focus on organ donation education. Mark Gravel at the U-M Transplant Center was appointed UMHS Director of Donation Initiatives in 2003, and has since worked to increase UMHS staff education, and develop a more organized approach to talking with patients' families about the potential for organ donation.

“This is great honor to which a great deal of credit should go to Mark Gravel and Gift of Life Michigan for their work to educate people in Michigan about the benefits of organ donation,” says Punch, an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at the U-M Medical School. “Organ donation truly is the greatest gift anyone can give, and, in many cases, it has helped families find solace and comfort knowing they've helped someone else following a loved one's death.”

The Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, part of Secretary Thompson's 2001 Gift of Life Donation Initiative, challenged 300 hospitals in the nation with the highest number of eligible/potential donors to increase the donation rate at their institution to 75 percent by partnering with their local organ procurement organization. The U-M Transplant Center is one of 11 other institutions nationwide to achieve, and exceed, this goal.

The collaborative is meant to generate significant, measurable increases in organ donation by helping the national community of OPOs and hospitals to quickly identify, learn, adapt and replicate practices that are associated with higher donation rates.

"Secretary Thompson's national initiative provides an excellent opportunity for Gift of Life Michigan to collaborate further with the University of Michigan Medical Center," says Thomas Beyersdorf, executive director at Gift of Life. "Because of UMHS's dedication, perseverance and hard work, more lives have been saved with organ transplants. We congratulate and thank the University of Michigan for their outstanding performance."

The ultimate goal of the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative is to:

• Increase the average conversion rate of eligible donors from the current average of 43 percent to 75 percent
• Increase donations by up to 1,900 donors per year
• Increase transplantations by 6,000 per year
• Help save the lives of thousands of people each year and prevent up to 17 deaths per day.

In 2003, the U-M Transplant Center performed 29 heart, 15 lung, 86 liver, 200 kidney and 14 pancreas transplants. The U-M Transplant Center, which began transplanting organs in 1964, is one of the oldest and most experienced Transplant Centers in the country.

To learn more about the U-M Transplant Center , visit www.med.umich.edu/trans/public. For more information about organ donation and how to become a donor, go to Gift of Life Michigan at www.giftoflifemichigan.org, TransWeb: All About Transplantation and Donation at www.transweb.org, or UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) at www.unos.org.

Additional details about the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative can be found online at http://organdonation.iqsolutions.com/index.asp.

Contact: Krista Hopson

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