NEWTON, Mass., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has honored New England Organ Bank as one of the nation’s best performing Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO). The Distinguished Performance Award was presented to New England Organ Bank for its success in achieving high levels of performance over an extended period of time and for demonstrating outstanding practice in multiple aspects of the life saving work of organ donation and transplantation.
New England Organ Bank (NEOB) received the award because it excelled in performance measures considered most critical by donation professionals:
* High conversion rates (the number of potential deceased organ donors who become organ donors). * High rate of organs transplanted per donor. * High percentage of donors who donate following cardiac death (as compared to the more common donation following brain death).
Elizabeth Duke, administrator of HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, said, “Their achievement shows that we can improve systems to boost donation rates and save more lives in the future.”
Richard S. Luskin, Executive Director of New England Organ Bank said, “The true importance of this award is that by making more organs available for transplant, NEOB helped save the lives of many people on the transplant waiting list. Saving those lives is our mission, and it is why we come to work every day.”
In July of this year, NEOB set a one-month record for organ donors in New England by recovering 92 transplantable organs from 27 donors and is on track for a record breaking 2006.
“As we celebrate these accomplishments, let us remember that behind each number is a human face: an individual who has made a gift of life by becoming an organ donor,” relates RADM Kenneth Moritsugu, Acting U.S. Surgeon General. “The success of these professionals is helping save more lives, and increasing the quality and length of life for more people. It is only fitting that we recognize their exceptional efforts through this Distinguished Performance Award.”
NEOB is the non-profit, federally-designated OPO for all or part of the six New England states. To learn more about donation, visit http://www.neob.org/.
New England Organ Bank
CONTACT: Sean Fitzpatrick, Director, Public Affairs of NEOB,+1-617-558-6626
Web site: http://www.neob.org/
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