Case Study: Gift of Life Michigan achieves faster donor organ matching with lifeIMAGE

Accelerating the donor organ matching process through instant medical image sharing

Gift of Life Michigan, the federally designated organ procurement organization that facilitates nearly 800 transplants a year, needed a faster way to get diagnostic imaging to transplant surgeons because images were not included in the UNet workflow. Traditional options like imaging CDs and VPNs were impractical for time-sensitive donation cases, sometimes forcing surgeons into costly, time-consuming travel. The vendor lifeIMAGE provided an image-sharing network integrated with UNet to address this gap.

lifeIMAGE gave donation coordinators accounts to upload donor imaging onsite and insert a secure imaging URL into UNet so surgeons can review studies on PC, Mac, or iPad. The result: 1,703 organ exams shared in 2014 via lifeIMAGE, instant nationwide image access, improved matching (including time-sensitive cases that otherwise might have been lost), less surgeon travel, and more time to prepare for procedures — all while fitting into existing UNet workflows.

Gift of Life Michigan

Crystal Peeples

Donation Coordinator