Overview:

Mr. Nathan will present a comprehensive overview of Donation after Cardiac Death (non heart beating donation) in the U.S. He will discuss the historical development, DCD donor data, DCD transplants and outcomes, procedural aspects regarding donor hospital recoveries, “hands off” period, warm ischemic time calculations and approaches to donor families. Mr. Nathan will also discuss experiences from Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, which has coordinated over 900 DCDs and 1,750 transplants since 1995.

Biography:

Howard Nathan is the President & CEO of Philadelphia-based Gift of Life Donor Program which now employs over 192 professionals. He began working at the organization in 1978 as a transplant coordinator and has led the organization since 1984. Gift of Life is the largest and one of the oldest of the 58 organ procurement organizations in the United States, having coordinated more than 36,000 organs for transplantation and tens of thousands of tissue transplants since 1974. Gift of Life has 15 transplant centers with 42 organ-specific programs and 130 donor hospitals. Mr. Nathan is also the President of the Transplant Foundation, Founder and President of the Gift of Life Institute, an international research and training center for donation and transplantation professionals established in 2004, and the President of the Gift of Life Family House.

Mr. Nathan is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on organ and tissue donation and is a visible figure in the field of transplantation Mr. Nathan is a regular presenter at regional, national and international organ and tissue procurement, transplantation and medical/healthcare conferences, and has published more than 300 scientific papers and abstracts. He is consulted regularly by members of the media and has appeared on national TV news and talk programs.