06/02/2026
🚨BREAKING NEWS IN SAVING LIVES 🚨
Donor Network West and UCSF announced the result of a five-year collaboration developing a scalable model that secures access to viable, donated organs and tissues not used for transplant for research, helping address a long-standing challenge in the study of human biology. As the federally-designated organ procurement organization serving Northern California and northern Nevada, Donor Network West connects nontransplantable and consented organs and tissues to researchers across the country, including UCSF, in support of scientific and medical discovery.
Established in the UCSF Department of Surgery by Dr. James Gardner, the Viable Tissue Acquisition Laboratory program–VITAL Core–enables the rapid recovery and delivery of organs and tissue samples to researchers through a close working relationship with Donor Network West. Each year, thousands of organs and tissues recovered for donation are not suitable for transplant but can still play a critical role in advancing science. The program also honors the wishes of donor families who choose to contribute to research, helping turn their gifts into meaningful scientific progress.
Read the full release about the VITAL Core, here: https://www.donornetworkwest.org/press-releases/donor-network-west-and-ucsf-establish-scalable-model-to-expand-real-time-access-to-viable-human-organs-and-tissue-for-research/
