M Health Fairview opens Donor Care Unit to advance transplant care, save more lives
George Surratt is profoundly grateful for the life-saving gifts of organ donation. He underwent two life-saving transplants at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center. In 2013, primary sclerosing cholangitis severely damaged his liver, and a transplant from a deceased organ donor saved his life. Nearly nine years later, the anti-rejection medication needed for his liver led to kidney damage, requiring a second transplant.
“I got lucky twice,” Surratt said. “I want people to realize that, as donors, they can be a hero for someone like me.”
To advance transplant care for patients like Surratt and better care for organ donors, M Health Fairview, in partnership with LifeSource, is opening the M Health Fairview Donor Care Unit. As the first of its kind in Minnesota, our freestanding facility is designed to increase the number of lives saved through organ donation, enabling transplant teams to use the most advanced organ recovery techniques to ensure more organs successfully reach those in need.
"When a donor gives the gift of life, it’s critical that we do everything we can to ensure a successful transplant for someone on the waiting list,” said Andrew Adams, MD, PhD, executive medical director of solid organ transplant with M Health Fairview and professor and chief of the Division of Transplantation at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “Our Donor Care Unit enables us to be better stewards of these generous gifts and deliver the best possible transplant care.”
Housed on the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center campus, the new unit builds on a legacy of excellence. The center is home to one of the oldest and largest transplant programs in the world, with more than 18,000 organ and stem cell transplants performed over the past 50 years.
“Organ donation is a rare gift,” said Kelly White, CEO of LifeSource. “Every opportunity matters, and this Donor Care Unit will help us – together – save more lives. We are so grateful to M Health Fairview for their collaboration in making this vision a reality.”
How the Donor Care Unit works.
When a deceased organ donor is identified, LifeSource coordinates the donor’s transfer from non-transplant hospitals in the Twin Cities metro area and St. Cloud to our Donor Care Unit.
Our dedicated nursing staff cares for the donor while LifeSource evaluates organs suitable for transplant and facilitates the matching process with transplant candidates around the region. Once a match is found, transplant teams recover the organs to provide life-saving gifts.
“It’s our honor to provide the most compassionate care for people who selflessly give their organs to save others,” said Erin Schaden, nurse manager of the M Health Fairview Donor Care Unit. “This innovative model allows us to care for donors with more intense and focused expertise, which leads to optimal opportunities for a successful transplant to those in need.”
