From Loss to Life at LCMC Health’s University Medical Center LOPA Partnership Turns Tragedy into Second Chances for Others

At University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC), some of the most meaningful moments do not happen in operating rooms and patient rooms. They happen in quiet hallways, in stillness.  

They honor “heroes” who have lost their lives but are doing one last thing on earth to save the lives of others, explained Dan P. Kiff, MN, RN, director of Trauma Services at the Norman E. McSwain, Jr. MD,  Spirit of Charity Trauma Center at University Medical Center. 

University Medical Center partners with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) to guide families through organ donation. They coordinate the process, support decision making, and stay with families through loss.  

April is National Donate Life Month. It’s a time for organizations like University Medical Center to raise awareness about the important work done behind the scenes regarding helping families get through the organ donation process with compassion. It’s also a time to spotlight the importance of becoming an organ donor. 

According to LOPA’s most recent statistics, there were more than 2,000 people in Louisiana waiting for an organ transplant in 2024. In addition to the donation of major organs, gifts of tissue and eye donations benefit thousands of people.  

“Even medical research can benefit through the gift of organ donation,” according to LOPA’s website. In 2024, United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) reported that 113,849 people were on the waiting list for an organ transplant. In that same year,  3,180 transplants were performed. 

At University Medical Center, 91 lives were saved through organ donation in 2025. “Our Level 1 Trauma Center believes in the mission of organ donation and supports our patients’ choices to give the gift of life,” said Kiff. “All too often, healthcare professionals see tragic events in people’s lives and the gift of organ donation is something good we see come from such tragedies, which makes our efforts even more meaningful.” 

How University Medical Center turns tragedy into lifesaving impact 

Helping families decide whether or not to allow their loved one’s organs to be donated is a big part of the trauma department’s mission.  “University Medical Center is a Level 1 Trauma Center. Severe injuries arrive without warning. Despite everything medicine can do, not every patient survives.” 

Kiff said this is a sad, but constant reality. But the decision by families to donate their loved one’s organs is, quite literally, life changing. 

“We see a lot of patients come in with trauma. It’s a young person’s disease,” said Kiff. “A lot of young people think they are invincible and do things they can’t undo. By having this relationship with LOPA, we are able to offer families a way to give back to the community after experiencing such tremendous loss. I suppose it is a way of making something good out of something so horrible.” 

What the Donor Walk reveals about care, respect, and meaning 

One of the most visible expressions of that care is the Donor Walk, Kiff said. When a patient becomes a donor, staff line the hallway from the patient’s room to the operating room. There is no script and there is nothing to do but stand and be still. People come because they understand what the moment means. 

Kiff said the donors are University Medical Center’s “heroes.“ They have lost their lives but have chosen to give the gift of life to others. 

“This is the way the hospital honors our heroes,” he said. “They are saving lives. We line up from the patient’s room to the OR and watch them go by on their way to giving the gift of life. It’s the hardest thing to watch, but it’s the only good thing that can come out of the tragedy.” 

For families, that moment carries a different weight. 

Patricia D. Clesi, BSN, RN, coordinator of University Medical Center’s Trauma Injury Prevention Program, unfortunately, is all too familiar with both sides of organ donation. She spent years as an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse caring for donor families. And while she works in injury prevention, trying to stop these horrific stories before they start, there are some things you can’t plan for – or prevent. 

In January 2022, her own family had to make the hardest decision of their lives. Clesi’s nephew, Alex, was 26 years old when he was killed in an ATV crash. Her 14-year-old son was with him and survived.  

The family decided to donate Alex’s organs and worked with Kiff and LOPA to make him a hero. 

“You can’t understand what devastation is until you go through something like that,” Clesi said. “It takes something that is really bad and turns it into something positive. It doesn’t make the loss less painful but it gave us a way to honor Alex’s life.” 

For Clesi and her family, the Donor Walk and the moments around it mattered. 

“It made a difference because people took the time to do this for us,” she said. “They realized our devastation and our sacrifice. They honored him. We all knew that Alex was a hero passing by.” 

Raising the flag in honor of a life that will save others 

Outside the hospital, recognition continues. When a donor is honored, the National Donate Life flag is raised on the University Medical Center campus. Staff gather and the families stand with them. The ceremony is simple, but it is intentional. 

“We are showing the community that we have a hero in the building,” Kiff said. “We are honoring this person and their commitment to saving lives.” 

In some cases, those moments carry even more meaning. Military donors are honored at the flagpole by veteran organizations. Often, members of the clergy are present to offer healing words. “This is our way of saying to our community that a life has ended but that person is helping give others a second chance at life by donating their organs.” 

A partnership grounded in dignity and respect 

Hospital teams manage the medical care. LOPA coordinators work directly with families, helping them understand what donation means and what it involves. Leadership ensures that every step is handled with consistency and respect. 

“By working directly with LOPA, University Medical Center is able to give families time at the bedside and we are all able to honor their choices,” Kiff said. “Most importantly, the patient is treated with dignity throughout the entire experience.” 

Kiff has seen this work from every angle. He has also seen what it asks of the people involved. “We’ve seen death. We’ve wrapped so many bodies together,” he said. “If we didn’t learn how to handle that, we would go crazy.” 

But he said that having these experiences doesn’t lessen compassion. Instead, “everyone who works at University Medical Center deeply feels what the donor families are feeling. We are one family honoring our heroes together.” 

At University Medical Center, the partnership with LOPA ensures that these moments are handled with compassion, dignity, and respect.  

It also ensures that even in loss, there is a way forward. A life ends. Others get a second chance to begin their lives again. 

To learn more about the Norman E. McSwain, Jr. MD, Spirit of Charity Trauma Center at University Medical Center in New Orleans, please visit: https://www.lcmchealth.org/university-medical-center-new-orleans/our-services/norman-e-mcswain-jr-md-spirit-of-charity-trauma-/