Donor Network West Begins 2019 With New CEO And Record Number Of Organ Donors
Increased organ donor numbers give hope to those who await organ transplants
(San Ramon, CA) January 9, 2019 – Donor Network West, the federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization for Northern California and Nevada, announced the appointment of Janice F. Whaley as new Chief Executive Officer and a record number of life-saving organ donors for 2018.
The 319 organ donors and 2,168 tissue donors, have the potential to improve the lives of 73,500 people.
Ms. Whaley, MPH, CPTC, CTBS arrived at Donor Network West on January 2nd and brings with her a track record of saving lives through increasing the availability of organs for patients on the transplant waiting list. She previously served as Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma, where she achieved five years of consecutive increases in the number of organ donors, landing it among the top organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States in donation performance.
Prior to her executive leadership role in Oklahoma, Ms. Whaley held leadership and clinical roles in two other OPOs, achieving similar results. As Managing Director of LifeGift’s largest region in Houston, Whaley led Houston to setting a record number of donors. She also managed the complex processes involved in working with five transplant centers with 24 separate transplant programs. Ms. Whaley’s record of significant improvement in donation will help bring Donor Network West to the next level.
Janice F. Whaley, Chief Executive Officer, Donor Network West
“With nearly 10,000 people waiting for organ transplants in our service area, we are compelled to do everything in our power to give them hope by increasing donation. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this organization and will challenge myself and our staff to continue to increase our donor numbers to transform lives as we gratefully respect the generosity of our donors and their families,” says Ms. Whaley.
Denisse Espinoza-Castro (center) holds a rose dedicated to her mother, Maria. Carolyn Dickson (left) was the recipient of Maria’s lungs and was Donor Network West’s sponsored Donate Life float rider at the 2019 Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA.
For over 30 years, Donor Network West has connected a donor’s gift to those in need in its donation service area of 45 counties. Of last year’s donors, 53 % had registered on official donor registries, a testament to the kindness of the communities served by the non-profit.
Donor Network West also welcomed 2019 with another milestone. On December 26, the organization recovered organs from the 250th organ donor at San Ramon Regional Medical Center’s Outpatient Surgery Center as part of a partnership with the hospital. The medical center is located across the street from the organization’s San Ramon office.
The collaboration, the first of its kind in California, has enabled Donor Network West to provide donor families a more certain time frame for the recovery of organs and reduces the overall time between organ referral and recovery.
Since the visionary partnership’s implementation three years ago, 784 organs have been recovered. The program also landed Donor Network West the Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group’s #Gamechangers Award in 2017, presented to companies for innovations that create better products, processes and services in the region, with proven regional and global impacts.
Donor Network West serves 175 hospitals and more than 13 million people within 100,000 square miles. The organization works in close partnership with families, doctors, nurses, more than 500 funeral homes and 44 coroners and medical examiners to connect donors to recipients. Anyone can register as a donor at the DMV or at DonorNetworkWest.org.