Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO)

Join us on April 30 for #DonorRemembranceDay as we honor the incredible Donor Heroes who gave the gift of life through organ, eye, and tissue donation. The forget-me-not flower symbolizes the lasting impact of these donors, ensuring their selfless acts are never forgotten. Watch the video to learn how you can take part, and visit AOPO’s Donor Hero Remembrance Garden to “plant” a flower in tribute to your Donor Hero. Submit a tribute today: https://lnkd.in/g6dRtbDN Together, we celebrate their lives, their gifts, and the hope they’ve given others. https://lnkd.in/eykfZHA9

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗢𝗣𝗢 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻! AOPO is proud to host our 6th annual Donor Remembrance Day to honor and celebrate Donor Heroes who have given the gift of life through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Each “planted” forget-me-not in our virtual garden symbolizes that these heroes and their selfless gifts will always be remembered. Held each April during National Donate Life Month, this annual tradition brings together heartfelt tributes from across the country, filling the garden with love, gratitude, and remembrance leading up to Donor Remembrance Day on April 30. We invite you to submit a dedication in honor of your Donor Hero and help share their legacy while inspiring others to give the gift of life. 🌸 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: https://lnkd.in/g6dRtbDN #DonorRemembranceDay #DonorHero #OrganDonation #OrganDonor

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 #𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴, 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀. Debra shared this heartfelt tribute with AOPO for #DonorRemembranceDay, and it beautifully captures the ripple effect of living donation: "𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 30𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦 𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨. 𝘖𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 6, 2020, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 24 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 4 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳! 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 2021, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨/𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘙𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢 #𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥-𝘰𝘧-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩." Help us celebrate living donors everywhere who are saving more lives every day. Sign up to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor at RegisterMe.org/AOPO50K

April is National Donate Life Month! Join us throughout the month as we honor the power of donation and celebrate the gift of life. This year’s theme is Let Life Sing! Birds are a universal symbol of renewal and remembrance. They remind us of the hope donation brings to those waiting and the lives forever touched by Donor Heroes. Help us save more lives. Sign up to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor at RegisterMe.org/AOPO50K, and encourage your loved ones to do the same. Let life sing through the act of giving. #DonateLife #NDLM #OrganDonation #AOPO50K

The wrong words fuel fear about organ donation. Let’s fix that. Misinformation spreads fast, especially when outdated or harmful language is used. Words like “harvest” and “cadaver” create unnecessary fear and misunderstanding about donation. The truth? Organ donation is a selfless, life-saving gift that deserves respect. Let’s use words that honor donors and encourage more people to say 𝗬𝗘𝗦 to saving lives. Share this to help stop the fear and start the conversation using compassionate language.

Last week, Gift of Life Donor Program, Infinite Legacy, and Center for Organ Recovery & Education co-hosted a Transplant Growth Collaborative in Philadelphia, PA. The event welcomed 22 transplant programs to share insights and explore strategies for expanding access to transplant and maximizing the use of donated organs. Progress in transplantation is made possible through strong collaboration between transplant centers and OPOs.

After Brendan Costello’s passing, his family learned of his selfless decision to donate his organs, which saved at least three lives across the country. AOPO is proud of the work done by members like LiveOnNY, whose staff approached the Costello family with compassion and care to make Brendan’s wish possible. Every day, teams like theirs at OPOs across the country work around the clock to support all donors and their families. Over 100,000 patients across the U.S. need lifesaving transplants to survive. The decision to be a donor like Brendan can save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of up to 75 people through tissue donation. Sign up as an organ donor at RegisterMe.org/AOPO50K and read Brendan’s story in The New York Times: https://lnkd.in/gVV3FHfq

AOPO is partnering with Econometrica, Inc. to advance the progress made by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in developing independently validated metrics for measuring OPO performance. With 54 OPOs committed, this initiative is a major step toward strengthening the organ donation and transplantation system.   Jan Finn, Project Co-Chair & CEO, Midwest Transplant Network: “As an approved CMS-certified contractor, Econometrica, Inc. are well-equipped to develop, test, and validate comprehensive metrics that holistically capture the work of OPOs.”   Barry Massa, Project Co-Chair & CEO at Network For Hope: “We are advocating for strong metrics that will offer the public a true picture of OPO performance…and deliver valuable data and insights that support our system partners and oversight bodies.”   Learn more about how this effort enhances accountability, builds trust, advances equity, and ultimately save more lives. https://lnkd.in/djxrA9Ch

This #InternationalWomensDay, we honor the incredible women who dedicate their lives to saving and healing others through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Their compassion, expertise, and leadership inspire change and make a lifesaving impact. We are proud to recognize AOPO President Dorrie Dils, whose leadership embodies this commitment to making a difference. As she said, “This field is full of thousands of the most dedicated people in healthcare. You are here because you have a greater calling, and you know what?… you are making a difference.” Join us in celebrating all the women leading the way to save lives.

A record-breaking year for organ donation, but challenges remain. In 2024, OPOs recovered over 45,000 organs which were successfully transplanted to save lives, marking 14 years of growth. Yet, misaligned policies continue to stand in the way of saving more lives. AOPO is advocating for reforms to ensure every donated organ has the opportunity to save a life. 🔗 Read more in our latest Donation Perspectives blog:  https://lnkd.in/ewentnQ6