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Madison Long

RN, BSN
In 2026, I am answering the call to... increase opportunities to save the lives of those in need.
Job Title: Organ Procurement Team Lead
Organization: Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE)
Age: 31
Years in Donation and Transplantation: 5
What makes your career in organ donation and transplantation special?

My career in organ donation and transplantation is deeply meaningful to me because of the profound and measurable impact it has on patients, families, and communities. In a field where outcomes are both immediate and lasting, I am continually reminded that each contribution helps save lives while also supporting those navigating profound loss.
Although the work is inherently complex and emotionally demanding, I am committed not only to advancing life-saving and life-enhancing efforts, but also to guiding families with compassion, dignity, and respect during some of their most difficult moments.
I am particularly motivated by opportunities to strengthen systems, elevate team performance, and enhance the quality of care delivered across the donation community. For me, it is both a privilege and a responsibility to contribute to this field.

Biography

Madison Long, RN, BSN, is a Registered Nurse and healthcare leader with a passion for critical care, organ donation, and driving meaningful impact in high-stakes environments. As an Organ Procurement Team Lead at the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), she leads high-performing teams in complex, time-sensitive settings while fostering a culture of accountability, growth, and excellence.

Building on her experience as an ECMO nurse, Madison identified the potential of normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) to expand donor opportunities and improve transplant outcomes, and developed and leads a comprehensive training program to support safe, standardized implementation. She has led initiatives that significantly improved coordination between surgical teams and hospital staff, including workflows that increased pediatric donor potential by 280 percent, and her work in lung donor management contributed to a 60 percent increase in transplanted lungs from 2024 to 2025. Before entering the field, she founded and directed Kids for Kids, a program supporting children in foster care that earned a proclamation from Allegheny County.

She was nominated for The Alliance 40 Under 40 by Victoria Shearer, Lead Performance Improvement Engineer at CORE. Shearer highlighted Madison’s leadership in developing workflows that dramatically increased pediatric donor potential, her engagement in DCD policy advocacy, and her commitment to mentoring others and elevating team performance across the national transplant community.