Organization: GIft of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network
Retired President and CEO of Gift of Hope & Retired Executive Director of ITF
In January 2022, Kevin stepped down as Executive Director for the Illinois Transplant Fund (ITF) a position he filled after 8 years as the President and CEO of Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network 2012-2020 (Gift of Hope). As CEO, he oversaw a 70% increase in organ donation and 200% increase in tissue donation. He started ITF in 2015 to ensure access to transplant for patients in Illinois ineligible for subsidized healthcare. ITF has helped over 500 patients receive organ transplants, eliminating the disparity for the non-citizen residents of Illinois. He advocates for the donor families who make transplants possible and a is strong believer in equal access to organ transplantation.
Kevin is currently involved in a number of organizations and projects to improve organ donation and transplantation across the country:
• Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) Expeditious Task Force Member
• National Faculty Member for the CMS Organ Donation and Transplant Collaborative (ETCLC)
• Coach for two ETCLC Teams
• Mentor for the Alliance and Speaker for the Alliance National Issue Forum
• Founder of the Better than Dialysis kidney utilization advocacy group
• Faculty Coach for the Gift of Life Philadelphia Leadership Academy
• Board Member for Humboldt Park Health
• Board Member of ITF
Prior to his work at Gift of Hope, Kevin was an Executive VP for AlloSource, a non-profit tissue bank. Kevin is the past President of the American Association of Tissue Banks and has served the community as a Board and Committee Member for various healthcare, government, and non-profit organizations.
Professional Information
Patient Groups: Adult
Areas of Practice: Adult, In-patient, Living Donation, Outreach, Pediatric & Neonatal, Post-transplant, Pre-Transplant, Procurement
Organs of Expertise: Heart, Kidney, Liver, Lung, Pancreas, Small Bowel
This webinar brings together experts in transplantation and organ preservation to examine emerging strategies aimed not only at mitigating ischemic injury but at actively improving organ function during perfusion. In the kidney space, where transplant outcomes are increasingly challenged by an aging donor pool, the rise of DCD cases, and a growing proportion of marginal and extended-criteria organs, these innovations are becoming central to maintaining and expanding transplant activity. The session will explore how evolving approaches to kidney preservation and reconditioning, including NRP and ex vivo machine perfusion, are being used to assess, rehabilitate, and optimize organ quality prior to transplantation.
In 2022, over 7500 kidneys were discarded, twice the number just four years ago. Acceptance practices vary 100-fold between programs and even within programs. While troublesome, the number of kidneys available for transplant presents an extraordinary opportunity to increase transplant and save more lives. Chris Zinner and members of his team at Accenture will share the extensive research they did for HRSA on transplant program acceptance practices and physician decision making. Chris will highlight ways the decision-making process could be improved, while Michael Ghaffari of UNOS will join us to discuss how this new tool was implemented to assist decision makers and improve the consistency of organ acceptance practice.
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