The DFW Hospital Council is posting blogs submitted by our Associate Members. The following was provided by Southwest Transplant Alliance. For guidelines, please contact Chris Wilson at chrisw@dfwhc.org.



Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA), a non-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) based in Dallas, made a record–breaking 1,267 organs available for transplant in 2017 because of the selfless, lifesaving gifts of 385 organ donors. This marks STA’s highest number of organs transplanted and organ donors in a single year, topping last year’s record of 1,210 from 380 donors.

STA also enhanced and improved the lives of 326 persons through the recovery of tissue.

The 1,267 figure is the largest number of organs transplanted in the state of Texas in a given year. It represents a 76 percent increase since 2013.

“It’s inspiring and humbling to know that thousands of lives have been saved and enhanced because of the families that made the incredibly generous decision to donate and those who registered to be donors,” said Patti Niles, president/CEO of STA. “We are very grateful to all those who have made life possible.”



STA is the bridge between those who make the decision to donate their organs and those in need of a lifesaving organ transplant. STA’s dedicated and compassionate staff work in hospitals to guide grieving families through the donation process and provide the clinical services needed to recover, prepare and transport organs and tissues to those awaiting a lifesaving or life-enhancing transplant.

The organization works with 11 transplant centers and more than 200 acute care hospitals throughout the state of Texas.

Even with STA’s remarkable milestones, there are still not enough organs available to meet the need. As a result, 22 people in the U.S. die each day waiting. The growing need for organ transplants is due in large part to an increase in diabetes, heart disease and other conditions for which a transplant is the only cure. Currently, more than 10,000 people in Texas and more than 115,000 nationally are in desperate need of a second chance at life and will not survive without an organ transplant.

STA is committed to educating the public about the need for donation and the importance of donor registration by supporting the Donate Life Texas registry. Go to DonateLifeTexas.org to register to become an organ, eye and tissue donor.

About Southwest Transplant Alliance
For more than 40 years, STA has been saving lives by recovering donated organs for individuals awaiting a life-saving transplant. STA is among the largest of 58 federally designated, non-profit organ procurement organizations (OPO). Founded in 1974, STA has facilitated more than 24,000 organs for recovery and enhanced the lives of more than 100,000 people. STA is a member of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) and is accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO). The organization serves communities in North Texas, Beaumont, Bryan/College Station, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Galveston, Midland/Odessa, Temple, Wichita Falls and Tyler. For more information, go to www.organ.org.

Sign up to be an organ donor at www.DonateLifeTexas.org.