Milestone year achieved, bringing hope and healing to families and recipients

LifeCenter Northwest facilitated the donation of a record 1,265 organs from 417 deceased donors in 2023, a groundbreaking achievement. This milestone underscores the organization’s commitment to saving lives through organ and tissue donation, while supporting families through the tragic journey of losing their loved one.

In a year that marked a significant leap forward, LifeCenter Northwest expresses deep gratitude to the selfless organ and tissue donors and their families who made 2023 a transformative year for second chances. The impact of their generosity continues to offer hope and healing to individuals in need of life-saving transplants. 

Beyond organ donations, 485 deceased donors contributed tissues such as bones, heart valves, skin, and blood vessels. These tissue donations will play a crucial role in various medical procedures, from replacing faulty heart valves in children to aiding burn victims’ recovery and providing comfort for mastectomy patients through reconstructive surgery.

We also support grieving families. Our Donor Family Aftercare team provided bereavement support to hundreds of families in 2023, offering counseling, solace, and celebration of the lives of organ and tissue donors through storytelling and remembrance events. Each family has its own grief journey and we both respect and honor that process through individualized support.

Donor family members like Diana Davis, whose daughter, Danielle Eger, died at the age of 30 from a brain aneurysm. Eger saved five lives and restored sight to two people as an organ and tissue donor.

“I never knew what I didn’t know about the process, the power of hope and healing that organ and tissue donation can bring,” said Davis.

As of Jan. 1, 2024, the United Network for Organ Sharing reports over 100,000 Americans on the organ transplant waiting list, with 2,300 patients residing in our service area of Alaska, Montana, northern Idaho and Washington.

Founded in 1997, LifeCenter Northwest has come a long way from recovering 254 organs in its first year. Today, through innovation, dedicated staff, strong hospital partnerships, and community altruism, the nonprofit honors the decisions of hundreds more donors annually, saving nearly 1,200 lives through the gift of organ donation.

Santokh Gill, president and CEO of LifeCenter Northwest, emphasized the commitment to our life-saving mission:

“I’m proud of the impact that we’ve made for those on the waiting list. My brother died last year while waiting for a lung transplant,” says Gill. “His loss has had a profound impact on our family that we will never recover from and only learn to cope with. There are so many families that we saved from that devastation.“

“The progress that we’ve made throughout our history and markedly in 2023 inspires and motivates us to do even more for the thousands of people still waiting for an organ transplant. We will never stop working to improve our services so that we can save more lives and help more families through the gift of organ and tissue donation.”