Philadelphia, PA – Gift of Life Donor Program, the non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organization serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, announced three new members were elected to its Governing Board and five new members to its Medical Advisory and Policy Board (MAPB).
“Our new board members bring to Gift of Life a wealth of expertise, talent and diverse perspectives ranging from transplant patients, donor family members and advocates to transplant surgeons, critical care leaders and hospital executives,” said Rick Hasz, Gift of Life Donor Program President and CEO. “We proudly welcome these accomplished leaders to help advance our life-saving mission. We look forward to leveraging their insights and ideas as we work together to save more lives.”
Gift of Life Governing Board
Three new members of the Governing Board were elected:
- Niels D. Martin, MD, Vice Chair for Diversity & Inclusion, Department of Surgery, Section Chief, Surgical Critical Care Program Director, Traumatology & Surgical Critical Care Fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.- PENN Medicine
- Timmy Nelson, Kidney Recipient and Gift of Life Ambassador
Senior Vice President, Managing Director of State Government Affairs, United Parcel Service (UPS) – Retired, former member of Medical Advisory & Policy Board
- Lynn Fallon, President and Co-Founder, CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services in Morrisville, PA, former member of Medical Advisory & Policy Board
The Governing Board will continue its oversight and direction of the strategic and operational initiatives of the organization. Gift of Life board members have expertise in hospital administration, transplant surgery, critical care medicine, business, science and community activism. The Board’s focus is to advance the life-saving mission of Gift of Life.
Governing Board Officers
- Chair: Warren Maley, MD, Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplantation Surgery, Director, Jefferson Transplant Institute, Director, Division of Transplantation, Director, Live Donor Liver Transplant Program, Surgical Director, Liver Transplant Program
- Vice Chair: Linda Barrasse, MD, Donor Mom, Cardiologist with Lankenau Heart Group, Main Line Health in King of Prussia, Pa.
- Immediate Past Chair: Barbara Wadsworth, DNP, RN, Chief Operating Officer, Mainline Health System
- Treasurer and Secretary: Margaret Belfield, BSN, MSN, Former Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, AtlantiCare, member of Geisinger Health System
- Honorary Chairman and Co-Founder: Clyde F. Barker, MD, Chairman Emeritus, Department of Surgery and Transplant Surgeon, Professor of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Co-Founder, Greater Delaware Valley Society of Transplant Surgeons
Gift of Life Medical Advisory and Policy Board
New members of the MAPB were elected to represent important constituencies across our community:
- Hospital Administrator: Kimberly Talley, MSN, RN, CRNP VP, Patient Care Services at Inspira Health in Vineland, NJ and Elmer, NJ
- Patient Family Member: Lynette Luckers, EdD, LPC, NCC, Founder and President, Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation and Delaware County Community College Dean of Counseling & Completion
- Transplant Recipient (Heart): Neal Stansbury, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa.
- Transplant Center Representative: Balakrishnan Mahesh, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa.
- Transplant Center Representative: Manish Gupta, MD, Associate Surgical Director at UPMC Pinnacle Harrisburg in Harrisburg, Pa.
MAPB members provide expertise and guidance to Gift of Life in recommending policy on a variety of initiatives related to increasing donation opportunities and enhancing relationships with hospital partners.
Medical Advisory and Policy Board Officers
- Chair: Peter Lalli, PhD, Director, HLA, Atrium Labs, Director, Donor and Product Testing Laboratory, Eurofins Labs Director, Director, Histocompatibility Laboratory, Lehigh Valley Health Network
- Vice Chair: Michael Marvin, MD, Chair, Department of Transplantation and Liver Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center
More information on each of the board members can be found here.
Gift of Life Donor Program
Gift of Life Donor Program is the non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organization, working with 126 acute care hospitals and 13 transplant centers to serve 11.3 million people in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. Thanks to its compassionate community, for the past 15 years, Gift of Life has coordinated the most organ donors in the United States. Its annual donation rate, 61 organ donors-per-million-population, ranks among the highest in the world. Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 58,000 life-saving organs for transplant, and approximately 2 million tissue transplants have resulted from the generosity of donors and their families. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and a tissue donor can improve the lives of about 100 others. For more information or to register, visit donors1.org.