Organ procurement in the US: Navigating challenges and shaping the future

Andrew Cameron, MD, PhD, MBA

Professor of Surgery, JHU School of Medicine, Director, Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery, Surgeon-in-Chief, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Dr. Cameron currently serves as the surgeon-in-chief of Johns Hopkins Medicine, the director of the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the chief of the Division of Transplantation in the Department of Surgery. Within these roles, he directs all surgical subspecialties in the Department of Surgery and leads the abdominal transplant team. As a Professor of Surgery, he has an active surgical practice in treating alcohol associated liver disease and hepatocellular cancer at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and maintains an NIH-funded research laboratory studying severe alcoholic hepatitis, as well as efforts to increase organ donation using social media and xenotransplantation.

Dr. Cameron is a leading authority in the field of liver transplantation and alcoholic hepatitis. His scientific interests focus on improving access to and outcomes after organ transplantation for those with end-stage liver and kidney disease. He has initiated novel efforts utilizing social media, leading to a significant increase of awareness of organ donation online and most recently has led the effort at Johns Hopkins to explore the use of genetically modified animal organs as a solution to the organ crisis. He is a member of multiple professional societies, including the American Surgical Association, the Society of Clinical Surgeons, the Southern Surgical Association, and the Halsted Society, to name a few. Dr. Cameron serves as a member on the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NCAA) and has authored over 150 scientific articles and book chapters.

Alexandra Glazier, JD, MPH

CEO of New England Donor Services

Alex Glazier is President & CEO of New England Donor Services (NEDS), one of the top 3 largest OPOs in the U.S. with 350 staff serving over 200 hospitals, 14 transplant centers and a population of 15 million in six states. Since 2015 NEDS has increased organs donors by nearly 100% and in 2021 successfully completed a merger of two OPOs creating the only OPO in the nation that serves an entire OPTN region. NEDS has been recognized as a top 100 Female-Led Business by the Boston Globe for the past 6 years.

Alex has held a number of national leadership positions including Chairing the OPTN Ethics Committee and the Policy Oversight Committee, and appointment to the Secretary of HHS, Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation. Alex has served on national Boards including the OPTN, UNOS and Donate Life America.

Alex is a frequent national speaker and has published on health law, ethics and policy topics in JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Transplantation, Hastings Center Report, the Journal of Health Law and Policy and other national and international journals. Alex is faculty at Brown University where she teaches courses in health law and in public health leadership.

Alex started her career practicing at the law firm Ropes & Gray. She holds an undergraduate degree in bioethics from Brown University and a JD-MPH magna cum laude from Boston University.

Jean Moody-Williams, RN, MPP

Deputy Center Director for the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS)

She has served under multiple administrations in the Senior Executive Service (SES) Corp.  She currently is a part of a leadership team responsible for one of CMS’ Centers that has nearly 800 employees and a $3 billion annual budget. She is responsible for leading quality improvement, value-based purchasing, delivery system reform, and kidney health activities.  She is also responsible for the execution of inspections for thousands of the nation’s healthcare providers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements for over 90 million people.  She works to ensure better healthcare, healthier populations, and smarter spending of healthcare dollars.

She is the author of a textbook for healthcare providers entitled, A Journey towards Patient-Centered Healthcare Quality Patients, Families and Caregivers, Voices of Transformation. She is also the author of the book entitled, Transitions, Trust and Triumph: A Daily Devotion for Caregivers, which provides inspiration, encouragement and resources for those caring for a loved one or that recently lost a loved one.

She is a recipient of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal awarded by the Partnership for Public Service and was recognized as the Federal Employee of the Year. Ms. Moody-Williams is also the recipient of the 2016 President of the United States Meritorious Rank Award and the 2018 President of the United States Distinguished Service Rank Award. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hampton University and a Master of Public Policy and Management from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jon Snyder, PhD

Director of Transplant Epidemiology, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute

Jon Snyder, PhD, is the Director of Transplant Epidemiology for the Chronic Disease Research Group of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He serves as the Director of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. He is a Statistical Editor for the American Journal of Transplantation, an Associate Editor of Transplantation, and he has co-authored more than 150 publications. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the Clinical Policy Board of LifeSource and is a member of the Board of Directors of The Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance. Dr. Snyder is the recipient of the 2023 Research Excellence Award from Hennepin Healthcare and the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Snyder earned his Doctorate in Epidemiology and his Masters in Biostatistics from the University of Minnesota.

Dennis Wagner, MPA

Principal & Managing Director at Yes And Leadership, LLC, and former federal executive with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration

Dennis Wagner, MPA is nationally and internationally recognized as an enthusiastic, thoughtful and strategic leader who believes in committing to and delivering on bold goals in work and in life.  He strives to deliver on those goals in ways that are uplifting and joyous for those involved in the work.

Dennis is currently the Principal and Managing Director of Yes And Leadership, LLC.  He recently completed service as a member of a Congressionally-chartered National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine Committee that reviewed the nation’s organ donation and transplantation system.  Their report, “Realizing the Promise of Equity in the Organ Transplantation System” was released in February of 2022.  He currently serves as a member of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network’s Expeditious Task Force.

Dennis and teams that he has led have supported national communities of practice in achieving unprecedented quantitative results on hospital patient safety, organ donation, indoor air quality, international environmental programs, and access to healthcare for underserved populations.  He has led large federal programs in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency for more than 30 years.  Dennis, together with Paul McGann MD and Jean Moody-Williams, were recognized as Federal Employees of the Year in 2016 by the non-partisan Partnership for Public Service.

Mario Macis, PhD,

Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School