Commitment to Excellence in Saving and Enhancing Lives

Recently, governmental committees have raised concerns about the performance of organ procurement organizations (OPOs). While the system certainly can and should improve, we can reassure you that people in Kansas and western Missouri are in excellent hands with MTN and our partner hospitals.

In 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ranked MTN No. 2 for organ donation rates as compared to the 56 other OPOs and No. 3 for transplant rates. These figures are based on 2020 data — the most updated data available today. None of this would be possible without the selflessness of donors and donor families as well as steadfast commitment from our many professional and community partners: hospitals; transplant centers; funeral homes; medical examiners; licensing, treasury and Department of Revenue offices; and beyond. Despite our position as one of the nation’s top-performing OPOs, we continually strive to improve our performance.

To that end, we opened a Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit (DCU) this September after carefully researching and planning over the last five years. Moving donors to the DCU improves outcomes for transplant recipients and minimizes the burden on hospitals and transplant centers by freeing up ICU beds, ventilators and critical care staff to care for other patients.

MTN also regularly pursues advancements in donation processes, including recovering organs from those who can become donors after circulatory death (DCD) — a more intensive procurement process than for those who can donate after brain death. MTN has long been strategically focused on a robust DCD program; in 2021, DCD patients accounted for 35% of all our organ donor heroes.

Although we are proud of the work MTN does alongside our great partners, we will always work to improve our processes and outcomes on behalf of the 105,000+ people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant nationwide — 2,200+ of whom are in Kansas and Missouri.