MediGO Leadership Selected to Speak at 2023 SXSW Conference to Discuss Innovation in Organ Transplant Supply Chains

CEO and co-founder Scott Plank will moderate a panel featuring MediGO co-founder and transplant surgeon Joseph Scalea MD, LifeGift CEO Kevin Myer, and Airspace Link CEO Michael Healander

BALTIMORE, Jan. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MediGO, a Baltimore-based healthcare supply chain technology company, is pleased to share that co-founder and CEO Scott Plank will serve as a panel moderator at the 2023 SXSW Conference. The session, Innovating Organ Transplant Supply Chains with UAS, will take place on Sunday, March 12, at 10 a.m. CST, as part of the conference’s Health and MedTech track.

Inspired by real events that took place in April 2019, when a patient who had waited eight years for a kidney transplant finally received an organ via the first-ever drone delivery of a human organ intended for surgery, this panel brings together a diverse group of perspectives on today’s organ transplant supply chain. Panelists include Dr. Joseph Scalea, co-founder of MediGO, transplant surgeon and medical director of Innovation/Solutions for Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC); Kevin Myer, president and CEO of organ procurement organization (OPO) LifeGift; and Michael Healander, founder and CEO of drone safety software and data solutions provider Airspace Link.

The session will discuss how those events transpired back in 2019, current innovations that will positively impact the organ transplant supply chain, and how MediGO’s next-gen supply chain platform integrates with uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to improve healthcare resource efficiencies, reduce costs and improve inequities associated with organ transplants to save more lives.

“Partnerships between software logistics platforms, OPOs and transplant centers, as well as UAS providers, are improving the organ transplant ecosystem by enabling more fairness and equity and reducing nonuse of donated organs. I am thrilled that SXSW has offered us the opportunity to present a timely discussion at the 2023 conference about the future of transporting organs,” said Plank. “To make the most of next-generation modes of transportation, like autonomous vehicles and drones, we must take steps to innovate our organ transportation supply chain today. I look forward to moderating this discussion and shedding light on new ways to ensure each gift’s journey is optimized for transplant.”

With more than 100,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list, autonomous transportation could have a profound impact on the organ transplantation journey. Autonomous transportation can be the difference in cases where death or other transportation challenges like canceled flights create barriers to organs being delivered on time for lifesaving transplant surgeries.

“As the medical technology around these life-saving operations and procedures advance, the supply chain that supports them should advance as well,” said Scalea. “I look forward to bringing a healthcare point of view to this session and collaborating with fellow panelists on ways that our respective areas of the transplant supply chain can better prioritize technology solutions to centralize communication and manage resources.”

Also of note, this panel discussion will include a look into the November 2022 Matador UAS Consortium, in which MediGO joined sister company MissionGO, as well as LifeGift, to take part in testing the ability to successfully move organs and blood by UAS between Lubbock, Texas, Oklahoma City and San Antonio. The flight marked the farthest distance donated organs – a human liver, kidney and pancreas donated for clinical research – have been transported by an Optionally Piloted Aircraft (OPA) and demonstrated the use of UAS technology to better serve patients in rural areas.

To attend the session, Innovating Organ Transplant Supply Chains with UAS, register for the 2023 SXSW Conference here.

About MediGO
MediGO’s innovative healthcare supply chain technology digitally orchestrates the U.S. organ donation and transplant system to improve fairness and equity, reduce nonuse of donated organs, and save more lives. Recognized by Edison Awards, Fast Company and Inc. magazine for its disruptive technology, and powered by proprietary algorithms and machine learning, MediGO provides the most actionable data available in the donation and transplantation industry. For more information about MediGO, a JSP Ventures company, visit gomedigo.io.

About LifeGift
LifeGift is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) health services organization. As the organ procurement organization (OPO) for North, Southeast and West Texas, we partner with more than 200 hospitals across 109 counties to save and heal lives. LifeGift is a founding member of Donate Life Texas, the organization that manages the organ, eye and tissue donor registry. For more information, please visit www.LifeGift.org.

About Airspace Link
Airspace Link’s vision is to create a world where the safe integration of drones fuels human progress, advancing social equity, the environment, and the economy. Founded in Detroit in 2018 by CEO Michael Healander, Airspace Link is one of the few FAA Approved UAS Service Suppliers of the Low Altitude Authorization & Notification Capability (LAANC) in the United States. Airspace Link’s cloud-based platform, AirHub®, provides the digital infrastructure required to support the safe use of recreational and commercial drones in communities at scale, supporting the growth of drone operations, drone service providers, drone manufacturers, package delivery, and air taxi deployment in the future. Learn more at www.airspacelink.com.

Media Contact
Taylor Hadley
LaunchTech Communications
taylor@golaunchtech.com
978-877-2113

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