John Muir Concord Awarded for Organ and Tissue Donation Efforts

From the California Transplant Donor Network:

John Muir Medical Center Concord has been honored by the federal agency overseeing organ and tissue donation for its work to reduce the number of people waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

A Silver Medal of Honor will be awarded to the hospital next month from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Each hospital is encouraged to meet three national standards for organ and tissue donation. John Muir Medical Center Concord is being recognized for achieving or exceeding two of those standards.

California Transplant Donor Network, which works with the hospitals on organ and tissue donation in Northern Nevada, joined in the recognition for that effort.

“CTDN is pleased to share in recognizing John Muir Medical Center.  What we see each day in working with them is a commitment to the idea that lives are saved and improved through organ and tissue donation. It is great to see this recognition for John Muir Medical Center at a national level,” said Cindy Siljestrom, Chief Executive Officer for CTDN.

About 10,000 people are waiting for organs alone in the area served by CTDN. Last year, after all possible measures to save their lives had been exhausted, John Muir Medical Center in Concord referred 23 patients as possible donors.  As a result, 3 people became donors, and 8 organs were recovered. Additionally, John Muir had 16 tissue donors in 2011.

Eight people potentially can be saved through a single organ donor, and that same donor can improve the lives of more than 50 people through tissue donation.

Register as a donor by going to ctdn.org.