N.E.Donor Services Volunteer Liz Sandeman of Medfield

N.E. Donor Services Volunteer Liz Sandeman of Medfield Receives the National 2022 Donate Life America Ambassador Award

New England Donor Services Volunteer Liz Sandeman of Medfield, MA has been named the recipient of the national 2022 Donate Life America (DLA) Ambassador Service Award. The Award was presented at the national DLA conference in Pittsburgh, PA on October 25 and recognizes Sademan’s volunteer efforts for the past seven years educating her community and beyond about saving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation.

Each year Donate Life America “celebrates the outstanding contributions of the tireless, passionate volunteers who are at the heart of the Donate Life mission”. Nominations are received from Donate Life organizations across the country and this year Sandeman was chosen for her numerous outreach efforts since 2015, including educating community groups of all ages, teens –
seniors, staff at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and AAA offices as well as her work with the Lions Organ Donation Awareness Committee.

Her efforts also expand beyond her home town community and she often travels throughout the New England region for programs. Liz has raised awareness as far as the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro which she climbed in 2018 raising more than $10k in support of organ and tissue donation and carrying a 6’ Donate Life flag filled with signatures from supporters and those she interacted with.

“Liz epitomizes what a great volunteer and champion of organ and tissue donation should be!” said New England Donor Services State Relations Manager Matt Boger, “She has created strong relationships with community groups and has helped develop a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility.”

Her volunteerism is inspired by her sister, nicknamed “T” who didn’t surviveher wait for a life-saving lung transplant. Liz shares, “I don’t want another family to lose a loved one simply because there are not enough registered organ donors. This is why I raise awareness for
organ and tissue donation.”

New England Donor Services
New England Donor Services coordinates organ and tissue donation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, the eastern counties of Vermont and Bermuda.
Through its federally designated organ procurement organization and its centralized tissue donation services operation, NEDS serves thousands of donor families each year who have generously made the decision to donate and honors the wishes of those who registered as
donors and gave the gift of life. NEDS works with 200 hospitals and serves 14 million people in the region, screening nearly 50,000 potential donor referrals annually. Working with the donor
families, NEDS staff lead donation authorization discussions, maintains medical support of potential donors, coordinates recovery surgeries, allocates organs according to the national
transplant waiting list and directs transport of organs to transplant centers and tissues to processors. Learn more about NEDS at www.neds.org.