Luca, Liver Recipient

­­­­About Us

DCIDS has been an integral part of the communities it serves for nearly four decades. Professional partners include hospitals, funeral homes, motor vehicle departments, high schools, medical examiners, and county clerks. Each of these professional partners plays a crucial role in the donation process. Their expertise and expediency help pave the way for others to receive the Gift of Life. DCIDS collaborates in myriad ways with these partners to develop educational and training programs, awareness and registration initiatives, and community memorials and celebrations.

Annual flag-raising events occur in over 28 hospitals every April to celebrate National Donate Life month. In six of these events, recognition ceremonies are held to celebrate donor families, living donors, hospital staff, and organ recipients, each attracting between 80-200 attendees.

In 2017, Tennessee Donor Services was nationally recognized by the of community of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) for achieving the highest rate of donors per million among its peers. DCIDS continues to find ways to strengthen its relationship with community partners in order to improve its service to families who rely on this life-saving work.

In 2018, DCI Donor Services launched a breakthrough social media campaign to end the transplant waiting list called #BeTheGift. The idea is simple:  encouraging people everywhere to #BeTheGift to others by registering online as organ and tissue donors. Since its kickoff in August, the campaign garnered over 65 million media impressions and received national support from media and celebrities alike. In only six months, over 1,000 people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia clicked through to state or national registries from the campaign’s website, BeTheGiftToday.com.

In 2019 both DCI Donor Services Tissue Bank and Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank introduced new or expanded existing product lines. The DCIDS Tissue Bank experienced significant growth in birth tissue products and musculoskeletal products. The Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank introduced Vidaris™ autologous serum eye drops for patients suffering from severe cases of chronic dry eye disease. Tennessee Donor Services received Axogen’s Partner of the Year award, an award presented to Axogen’s (peripheral nerve products) partner with the best technical recovery metric.

DCIDS strives to end the transplant waiting list by encouraging donor registration and works to extend the reach of each generous donor’s gift to those who are always profoundly grateful for them.

In 2019, Donor Services had: