Mid-America Transplant and MediGO Partner to Improve Organ Transportation and Save More Lives

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mid-America Transplant is pleased to announce a partnership with MediGO, an innovative logistics and communications company dedicated to improving the transportation of organs for transplant. By using MediGO’s technology, Mid-America Transplant and transplant surgeons will be able to closely monitor the location of organs during transit.

Mid-America Transplant expects to achieve an important milestone in 2021 when it takes cares of its 2,500th donor at its on-site recovery facility. By completing organ donations at this first of its kind facility in the world, Mid-America Transplant has better control over the quality and efficiency of the transplant process. By partnering with MediGO, Mid-America Transplant is addressing challenges faced during time-sensitive transportation of organs to surgeons, whether down the road or across the country.

“Time is of the essence in organ donation. We often have just hours from the time of donation until the organ needs to be transplanted, and that may include traveling hundreds of miles to reach the recipient,” said Dr. Jason Wellen, a transplant surgeon from Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. “With MediGO’s technology, all of us involved will be able to see where the organ is and its condition in real-time, so we can be fully prepared as soon as it arrives at our hospital.”

The MediGO platform uses a proprietary and innovative algorithm to predict and provide an accurate ETA. MediGO provides full visibility of the trip to stakeholders across the transplant continuum, from the organ procurement organization (OPO) who facilitated the organ donation to the surgery team waiting to receive it. All stakeholders are informed in real time about changes to the ETA, so they can better manage resources and improve the chances of the organ being transplanted. These parties are informed of flight delays or diversions due to weather, so they can adjust as needed to give the organ the best chance of success. There is an urgent opportunity to apply innovations in medical technology to improve access to transplantable organs. While approximately 110,000 people are on the national organ waiting list, hundreds of thousands of additional Americans would benefit from broader access to transplant care. This aligns with MediGO’s mission to improve clinical outcomes by increasing access to lifesaving organs through efficient resource management.

“We’re excited to partner with Mid-America Transplant, who is seen as a leader in the organ procurement industry with a history of innovation,” said Dr. Joseph Scalea, co-founder and chief medical officer of MediGO. “Our vision has been to revolutionize the organ transplantation community by tracking every piece of data along an organ’s life-saving journey, which is why we’ve worked closely with OPOs to design a solution that saves time, money and improves the quality of the gift of life.”

Previously, approximately 20% of Mid-America Transplant’s organs traveled outside its service territory. Today, that number is closer to 70%, due largely to regulatory changes to how kidneys and livers are allocated nationally. As more organs travel farther, the level of control and transparency MediGO provides through the transportation process will be more critical than ever before.

“It’s our responsibility to the best possible stewards of the gifts donors and their families provide,” said Diane Brockmeier, president and CEO of MidAmerica Transplant. “Incredible innovations, like MediGO’s platform, give organs the best possible chance to get placed successfully, so their loved one’s legacy can live on in another.”

About JSP Ventures
JSP Ventures starts-up and invests in companies that generate “triple bottom line” investment returns measured by economic, social, and environmental benefits which strengthen communities. We work with entrepreneurs and teammates who share our values of listening, service, and activism. We execute our mission by offering leadership, financing, mentorship, infrastructure, and our network. For more information, please visit www.jspventures.com.

About MediGO
MediGO is an industry-leading logistics platform that enables real time management of time-sensitive medical shipments on a centralized communication channel. With newfound supply chain transparency, care teams can be proactive in unifying stakeholders, coordinating resources, and making vital decisions- to deliver care at the speed of life. MediGO is a portfolio company within JSP Ventures. Visit gomedigo.io to learn more.

About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ, tissue, and eye donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ donors, recipients and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment in an effort to provide organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 58 such organizations in the U.S., and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence. For more information, visit www.midamericatransplant.org.

Contact:    
     
Mid-America Transplant
Maggie Donnelly 
(314) 807-9455 
mdonnelly@standingpartnership.com

MediGO
Amy Larkin
(443)-478-1208
amy@jspventures.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/29d1e888-b979-4b44-a467-cf85a70fddea