2003.08.20: HHS Awards $4.3 Million to Spur Organ and Tissue Donation

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced 13 grants worth nearly $4.3 million to support social, behavioral and clinical intervention programs that lead to increased organ and tissue donation.

"These projects offer real hope and promise for increasing our national donation rate and saving the lives of thousands of individuals waiting for life-saving organs and tissue," Secretary Thompson said. "They help us get out the message that organ donation saves lives."

Grants are awarded from two HHS grant programs: Social and Behavioral Interventions to Increase Organ and Tissue Donation, and Clinical Interventions to Increase Organ Procurement. Organizations receiving awards include an affiliate of the National Kidney Foundation, an eye bank, organ procurement organizations and schools of medicine. The three-year grants are administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration through its Division of Transplantation.

The social and behavioral interventions program emphasizes rigorous methodology and evaluation to test the efficacy of interventions meant to increase organ and tissue donation. Total funding for the eight awards is $2,776,690.

The clinical interventions program, funded for the first time in fiscal year 2002 as part of Secretary Thompson's Gift of Life Donation Initiative, evaluates clinical interventions to increase the number of organ donors and the number of organs recoverable from existing organ donors. It also promotes research to evaluate and disseminate model interventions with the greatest impact on donation. This year's grants will support five projects, totaling $1,493,728.

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS
TO INCREASE ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION
FY 2003 GRANTS

Institution and Project

City

State

Award

Arizona Kidney Foundation
"Hispanic Live Organ Donation: A Strength Based Approach"

Phoenix

Ariz.

$463,488

University of Miami School of Medicine
"A Model Intervention for Increasing Intent of a New Immigrant Population (Haitian in Miami-Dade County, Florida) to Donate Organs and Tissue"

Miami

Fla.

375,559

Organ Procurement Agency of Michigan
"A Culturally Sensitive Intervention to Increase Organ Donation Registration Among Asian Pacific Americans"

Ann Arbor

Mich.

299,271

New York Alliance for Donation, Inc.
"A Multi-Campus Classroom Intervention to Increase Organ and Tissue Donation"

Albany

N.Y.

260,854

Mount Sinai School of Medicine
"Improving Organ Donation in Chinese Communities in New York City"

New York

N.Y.

317,161

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
"Testing the Early Referral and Request Approach (ERRA) Model"

Cleveland

Ohio

471,087

LifePoint, Inc.
"A Comprehensive Approach to Organ Donation by Incorporation of Family Support Counselors as Members of the Hospital Critical Care Team"

Charleston

S.C.

418,903

South Dakota Lions Eye Bank
"A Culturally-Competent Intervention to Increase Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation on South Dakota's (SD) Indian Reservations: A Collaborative Project by the SD Lion's Eye Bank and SD State University, College of Nursing"

Sioux Falls

S.D.

170,367

TOTAL:
$2,776,690

CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS
TO INCREASE ORGAN PROCUREMENT
FY 2003 GRANTS

Institution and Project

City

State

Award

The Children's Hospital
"Infant Heart Transplantation from Non-Heart Beating Donors: A Strategy to Reduce Waiting Mortality"

Denver

Colo.

$231,768

University of Miami School of Medicine
"Use of Perfluorinated Hydrocarbons During Pancreas Procurement to Improve Utilization of Cadaveric Marginal and Non-Heartbeating Donor Organs for Clinical Islet Transplantation"

Miami

Fla.

472,342

Trustees of Columbia University
"Hypothermic Machine Preservation of Livers for Transplantation"

New York

N.Y.

284,244

University of Pittsburgh
"Hemoadsorption to Improve Organ Donor Recovery"

Pittsburgh

Pa.

278,614

University of Pittsburgh
"Validating Identification Criteria of Donors After Cardiac Death"

Pittsburgh

Pa.

226,760

TOTAL:
$1,493,728

GRAND TOTAL:
$4,270,418

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

News Release

HHS AWARDS $4.3 MILLION TO SPUR ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION