For the second consecutive year, Midwest Transplant Network reached a milestone in organ recovery and transplantation by surpassing one thousand organ transplants in a single year.
In 2025, MTN recovered organs from 371 donor heroes who, in turn, saved lives through 1,080 organ transplants .
In 2024, MTN recovered organs from 399 donor heroes, saving lives through 1,075 organ transplants.
This achievement is the result of collaboration, trust and innovation between hospital partners, MTN staff and the generosity of donor heroes and their families. The decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor has a lasting impact.
MTN’s journey began humbly in 1972 with 13 organ donors. Since then, we have touched countless lives.
For every person saved through organ donation and transplantation, there are stories of gratitude, hope and new memories:
• It’s the teenage boy who needed a liver transplant. Now he’s thriving and can play soccer on his high school team.
• It’s the parents whose baby needed a heart valve and because of tissue donation, their baby is healthy and growing.
• It’s the family who said yes to their daughter being a donor after an accident. Her gifts saved four people who are grateful for new beginnings.
On behalf of Midwest Transplant Network, we sincerely appreciate your dedication as health care professionals to give hope and share life with compassion and dignity. Thank you!
Annual Rose Parade® Float Features MTN Donor Hero
At the start of the new year, the annual Rose
Parade® is an exciting way to increase awareness of organ, eye and tissue donation.
What’s more exciting is that Midwest Transplant Network honors a special donor hero on a float! MTN is a co-sponsor of the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade® float, which gives us the opportunity to honor a donor hero. This year, we honored Chad Stacy of Olathe, Kansas. Your support as hospital partners that signed rose vials with messages of hope is part of the excitement, too.
Chad was 34, a son, brother, uncle, friend and father to daughters, Faith and Payton. He liked being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and working in construction. As a kid, he loved to play Wiffle® ball. He joined the U.S. Marines after high school, served as Military Police and deployed on two tours of duty in Iraq. Chad wanted to become a police officer in Olathe. Sadly, he passed away after a car accident in 2017. Chad was a registered donor. He gave tissue, tendons, heart valves and both corneas, enhancing the lives of 157 people. Chad’s portrait — a floragraph — was displayed on the parade float.
Chad’s parents, Linda and Donnavon Isaac, traveled to Pasadena, Calif., to take part in parade events coordinated by OneLegacy, an organ procurement organization.
Chad’s parents decorated the OneLegacy Donate Life float, Treasure Every Moment Together, and helped display his floragraph, a portrait made of organic materials. They enjoyed celebration dinners and receptions for donor hero families, transplant recipients and living donors, float judging and much more.
On Jan. 1, 2026, the Isaacs experienced the thrill of watching the OneLegacy Donate Life float from the grandstands at the 137th Rose Parade® presented by Honda . Despite the rain, there were smiles and tears seeing Chad’s portrait among 29 floragraphs on the float, as well as several float riders and walkers.
We are blessed to
honor Chad
and to keep telling his story.
“It was an exciting, emotional week. We are blessed to honor Chad and to keep telling his story,” said Linda.
Through their journey as a donor hero family, Chad’s parents are strong advocates for donation. Linda is an MTN Ambassador.
In his spirit, his family hosts the Chad Stacy Wiffle® Ball Tournament to recognize donor heroes and celebrate organ, eye and tissue recipients. The memorial tournament is held in Olathe on the first Saturday in October.
Ambassadors at the Heart of MTN’s Growing Community Outreach
In 2025, Midwest Transplant Network continued to experience growth in outreach and community engagement efforts. Ambassadors and staff clocked over 1,500 hours of training, tabling and public speaking events. MTN reached more than 9,500 community members across Kansas and western Missouri, emphasizing the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation.
MTN’s commitment to fostering inclusion and engaging diverse audiences was evident through partnerships and event participation. Staff and Ambassadors took part in Telemundo Kansas City’s health fair, Kansas City Juneteenth Heritage Festival, Samuel U. Rodgers Back to School Fair and more. During these community events, MTN staff members joined the Community Engagement team and local Ambassadors to help share facts, clarify misconceptions, build trust and encourage people to become registered donors.
These substantial efforts underscore MTN’s mission to save and enhance lives while fostering deeper connections within the communities we serve. The personal stories shared by Ambassadors — donor families, recipients and advocates — help bring the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation to life and encourage others to join the donor registry.
Are you interested in joining our outreach efforts through event invitations, volunteering or making community introductions? We’d love to hear from you! Contact Nichole Asquith, Community Engagement Coordinator, at nasquith@mwtn.org to share your suggestions and help MTN continue spreading awareness and hope.
2026 Donate Life Legacy Walk
Circle the date! Midwest Transplant Network will host the Donate Life Legacy Walk on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
This free community event is a time to celebrate and remember the power of organ, eye and tissue donation. It brings together donor hero families, transplant recipients, living donors, hospital partners and the countless people whose lives have been touched by donation.
The evening will feature live music, food trucks with snacks available for purchase, Tribute Trail signs honoring donor heroes and transplant warriors, a bubble remembrance ceremony and, most importantly, the opportunity for families to come together and make new memories.
What’s new in 2026? We’re moving the Legacy Walk to the fall in support of our partners at the National WWI Museum and Memorial and the incredible opportunity for Kansas City to host the FIFA World Cup™.
Be on the lookout for registration details in April.
Preparing for National Donate Life Month
National Donate Life Month (NDLM) is observed in April. Each year, we honor the heroes who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation. We also celebrate the lives that have been saved and enhanced through donor generosity. Join us as we raise awareness about donation, encourage people to join the donor registry and honor those who have given the gift of life.
This year’s NDLM theme, Leave a Legacy, features trees as a symbol of life and connection. Just as trees grow and support each other in a forest, the gift of donation connects our community — donors, recipients and their families. Like a tree that stands tall for generations, a donor’s gift leaves a lasting legacy of hope and life. We look forward to celebrating NDLM with our professional and community partners, donor families, volunteer Ambassadors, staff members and beyond.
Hospital partners: Exciting changes are ahead for hospital public relations, communications and marketing staff members. Please be on the lookout for more information on how you can celebrate National Donate Life Month in your hospital.
We encourage you to start planning NDLM activities early. Please contact your Hospital Services Coordinator for additional guidance.
Hospital Partner Education
About This Newsletter
This insert is intended for clinical staff and not for the general public. Please post in a highly visible clinical area such as a break room.
Expanding Donor Care Capabilities: CRRT in the DCU
Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) was officially introduced in the Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit (DCU) at Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) in October 2025, expanding the ability to care for increasingly complex donors. According to Emily Freund, BSN, RN, CPTC, DCU Clinical Specialist, the need for CRRT has long been recognized. Freund shared, “CRRT broadens our abilities and ensures we aren’t limited when a donor requires this level of support.”
Contact Us
For more information or questions, call 913-262-1668, email info@mwtn.org or visit mwtn.org
By the Numbers
While implementing CRRT required time to address logistics and staff training, the therapy now allows donors to be managed in the DCU without delaying care or preventing transfer. CRRT in the donor setting mirrors its use in traditional intensive care unit settings. “CRRT is managed the same way in our DCU whether that’s for electrolyte management or fluid removal,” explained Brandy Johnson, RN, BSN, CPTC, DCU Clinical Specialist.
Since October, five donor heroes have been supported with CRRT, resulting in the transplantation of 21 organs, including four hearts, four lungs, five livers and eight kidneys. Johnson noted that MTN’s CRRT capability has removed time pressure from the donation process. “We no longer have to rush to the operating room if the donor isn’t making urine and is fluid overloaded. We can wait 24-48 hours and really optimize the organs.”
Freund added that this additional time reduces confounding factors that can limit organ utilization. “We’re able to eliminate one major variable and focus on optimizing the rest of the donor’s physiology,” she said, noting the positive impact renal optimization can have on thoracic organs.
For hospital partners, communication remains key when transferring donors on CRRT. A plan for transfer, verification of line placement and collaboration between MTN’s DCU specialist, medical director and nephrologist is essential. Freund and Johnson emphasized, “CRRT allows us to provide continuity of high-level critical care focused on maximizing the gift of donation.”
Same Team, Same Play
The Role of MTN Huddles
In sports, a huddle is when a team regroups, shares the play and aligns themselves before the next move. Midwest Transplant Network huddles serve the same purpose — bringing the right players together at the right time to support patients, families and the opportunity for donation.
A huddle is a brief, focused meeting between MTN staff on site and key hospital team members. At minimum, this includes the bedside nurse and the attending physician — two of your essential players on the field. Collectively, the team reviews the current care plan and evaluates whether donation opportunities exist at that point in the patient’s course.
Like any good game strategy, huddles can, and should, happen more than once and adjust as conditions change. Discussion often includes clinical factors important to preserving future donation options, considerations around Death by Neurological Criteria (DNC) or potential Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) suitability and the patient’s donor designation status. The team also clarifies when authorization may be required and confirms legal next-of-kin identification.
Equally important is planning the family approach. The huddle creates space to discuss family dynamics, their understanding of the patient’s condition and how best to communicate the next steps. Who will be present? Who will lead the discussion? What will be said, and where?
By huddling, MTN and hospital teams stay aligned, support one another and ensure we’re all running the same play focused on saving lives, and honoring the gift of organ and tissue donation with dignity and compassion.
Reminder for Q4 Mortality Data
Now that it’s 2026, it is time for your hospital’s annual donation performance report. Please send your hospital’s mortality data for Jan. 1 –Dec. 31, 2025, by Jan. 23, 2026 via secure email or fax to your Hospital Services Coordinator. If you need assistance with a secure email or if you’re not sure who your HSC is, please email info@mwtn.org
Unplanned
Mention of Donation: Why It Matters and How to Avoid It
Unplanned Mention of Donation (UMD) occurs when organ donation is introduced to a patient’s family before Midwest Transplant Network is involved. While often well-intentioned, these conversations can unintentionally create confusion, mistrust or even lead to a family declining donation which can complicate the process and reduce the chance of saving lives.
Why does this happen?
In high-stress situations, clinicians may want to provide hope or answer questions quickly. However, donation discussions require specialized training to ensure families receive accurate information and compassionate support. When UMDs occur, families may form misconceptions or feel pressured, making it harder for MTN to guide them through the process. These mentions often sound casual but can have a significant impact for example, “Would you ever consider donation?” or “I think your loved one could be a donor.” Even well-meaning comments like, “They’d make a great donor,” can inadvertently start a conversation too soon.
Why timing and expertise matter:
Donation conversations are most successful when they happen at the right time, with the right team. MTN professionals are trained to navigate these sensitive discussions, ensuring families understand the process and feel supported. Introducing organ, eye and tissue donation too early could shift focus away from patient care and create emotional distress.
Best practices to prevent UMDs:
• Recognize Clinical Triggers: Notify MTN immediately when referral criteria are met.
• Avoid Premature Conversations: Do not mention MTN or donation.
• Collaborate with MTN: Let MTN coordinators lead discussions about donation. During the huddle process, MTN coordinators will provide hospital teams with transition language to avoid a UMD.
Every conversation matters. By following these best practices, healthcare teams can protect the integrity of the donation process, support grieving families and maximize the opportunity to save lives.
Traveling Trophy Makes Its Debut at Wichita West Driver’s License Office
In 2025, local license, treasury and Department of Revenue offices were presented with an opportunity to land MTN’s inaugural traveling trophy by winning our National DMV Appreciation Month decorating contest. We had some incredibly creative entries and posted pictures on Facebook, allowing the public to decide the winner. The voting was close and further intensified the rivalry between Wichita license offices. Ultimately, we announced Wichita West as the winner of the 2025 National DMV Appreciation Month decorating contest!
It was only fitting that Hope the Otter visited Wichita West to present their staff and their manager, Deziree Herrera, with the coveted traveling trophy. The winning team was thrilled to meet Hope and receive their welldeserved honor. Wichita West is always looking for creative ways to educate and engage their community and continues to be a wonderful partner to MTN.
We can’t wait to see who earns the trophy in 2026!
DMV Staff Training Opportunities
Midwest Transplant Network is grateful for the opportunity to provide education and training for DMV partners, both large and small. We begin with a short, informal presentation about the work and mission of MTN and how our DMV partners contribute to the hope that we are able to give to donor families and recipients alike. There is always time for questions to allow for meaningful conversations about organ, eye and tissue donation. We would like to continue offering these opportunities in 2026 and travel to your DMV, license or treasury office for a staff meeting or new hire training. If in-person gatherings are not feasible, we are happy to schedule a time to meet virtually and provide answers to any questions your staff may have.
Please reach out to Jessica Cleary, Donor Designation Coordinator, at jcleary@mwtn.org with any dates you have in mind for the coming year, or as you need assistance.
National Donate Life Month Creativity
To accompany this year’s National Donate Life Month theme, Leave a Legacy, Midwest Transplant Network will provide each license, treasury and Department of Revenue office with decorative leaves. We hope this opportunity leads to creative collaboration and helps encourage conversations about organ, eye and tissue donation.
We look forward to seeing Leave a Legacy come to life in April!
Need Organ Donation Materials?
We appreciate your ongoing support and advocacy for organ, eye and tissue donation in Kansas and western Missouri. Together, we educate and serve many communities!
We will send out supplies in March for National Donate Life Month, recognized in April, to ensure everyone is fully stocked. However, if you find yourself in need of additional supplies, please do not hesitate to submit an office material request or a community event request.
Submit an office material or event request: mwtn.org/dmv
MTN DMV Spotlight: Asking the Question Can Save a Life
Midwest Transplant Network recognizes the important work that DMV offices have as a partner in organ, eye and tissue donation.
Autumn Carroll is the Driver License Supervisor at the Pittsburg, Kansas license office and shares her story about what it’s like to ask, “Would you like to be an organ donor?”
“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is knowing that the work that is done every day has a direct impact on people’s lives, sometimes in ways that aren’t immediately seen,” said Autumn.
“We issue IDs, ensure safety and compliance and help people navigate state regulations, but what really stands out is being part of the process where someone makes the choice to become an organ, eye or tissue donor,” she shared. “When I ask that simple question, ‘Would you like to be listed as a donor?’ I know it could lead to someone receiving the gift of life.”
For Autumn, it is incredibly meaningful to help people make informed, compassionate decisions. “We are part of a system that promotes community service, safety and generosity,” she said. “The most rewarding moments are when someone shares a personal story, maybe they’re a transplant recipient, or they lost someone who was a donor, and you realize just how powerful and far-reaching this work can be.”
The Pittsburg, Kansas license office provides basic information about being a registered organ donor.
“We let them know that by saying ‘yes,’ they are giving hope to thousands of Kansans and Americans waiting for a lifesaving transplant,” Autumn said. “It’s not about pressuring anyone, it’s about making sure they understand the option and can make their wishes known. That little heart symbol on the license can mean the world to someone someday. To me, it’s a privilege to be part of this process. I know that just by offering this information, I may be helping someone take the first step toward becoming a hero.”
When she learns about a donor recipient’s story, it is incredibly moving and meaningful. Hearing these stories reminds Autumn that what she does isn’t just about paperwork, it’s about real people, real families and real lives saved.
“It gives us pride and purpose, knowing that every time we ask someone if they want to register as a donor, it could lead to a story like that,” Autumn remarked. “These stories also help inspire others. People are often more willing to say ‘yes’ to donation when they understand the incredible impact it can have. It’s a privilege to be a small part of that lifesaving chain.”
The Pittsburg license office works closely with Midwest Transplant Network to increase awareness and provide education about organ donation. Available at the service counters are printed brochures and flyers that explain the registry, first person authorization protections and details about what it means to be an organ donor. The license office staff use virtual training modules provided by MTN. They also display posters or digital screens reminding visitors about the opportunity to become a donor. The staff wear lapel pins, lanyards and T-shirts to support the message. “These visual cues help spark conversations and encourage questions,” said Autumn.
“We receive ongoing training updates and informational materials from our partnering organizations so that staff feel confident discussing donation with applicants in a compassionate, non-coercive manner.”
Autumn said the DMV partnership with MTN ensures that accurate, respectful and timely information is always available when someone makes a decision. This approach helps people make an informed choice and, in many cases, they choose to become a donor.
“It reminds me that this isn’t just a government office. We’re a place where lifesaving decisions are made every day.”
Mission
Saving lives by honoring the gift of donation with dignity and compassion
Vision
Leading organ and tissue donation through excellence, quality and partnerships
Contact Us
For more information or questions, call 913-262-1668 or visit mwtn.org
Follow Us
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/MidwestTransplantNetwork
@MWTransplant
Midwest Transplant Network
Upcoming Events
Event Audience Key
General MTN
Hospital Partners
Licensing, Treasury and Department of Revenue Partners
View all upcoming events: mwtn.org/events
1900 W. 47th Place, Suite 400 Westwood, KS 66205
February
Feb. 13 • Songs From the Heart
In celebration of National Donor Day, MTN and 90.9 The Bridge bring you the stories and songs of people who’ve been changed by organ, eye and tissue donation. Listen on the radio or online from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information: bridge909.org
April
April 1 – 30 • National Donate Life Month
Observed in April each year, National Donate Life Month raises awareness about donation, encourages Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and honors those who have saved lives through the gift of donation.
For more information: mwtn.org/ndlm
September
Sept. 12 • Donate Life Legacy Walk
This free community event celebrates and remembers the power of organ, eye and tissue donation. The walk features a Tribute Trail, food trucks, live music, a bubble remembrance ceremony, information booths, lawn games and more. Registration opens April 2026.
