The Donor Care and Surgical Recovery Unit (DCU) is a state-of-the-art facility — located within our Westwood, Kansas, headquarters — where donor heroes may be transferred. Transferring donor heroes to the DCU after close collaboration with our hospital partners allows for specialized management, allocation and recovery of their gifts.

Our goal in creating the DCU was to increase our stewardship of donors and their families; hospital partners; transplant partners; and transplant recipients. The DCU allows us to do that in several ways:

• Honors donors’ and their families’ generosity by maximizing the number of lifesaving organs available for transplant
• Minimizes the burden on hospitals by freeing up intensive care unit beds, operating rooms, ventilators and critical care staff to care for other medically complex patients
• Improves scheduling for transplant recipients and surgeons