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Iowa Donor Network honors Muscatine County Medical Examiner’s Office for donation referrals
Summary
The Iowa Donor Network presented a Legacy Award to the Muscatine County Medical Examiner’s Office for consistently referring deaths for donation evaluations, citing 1,094 referrals over three years and 58 tissue and cornea donors.
Steve Franz, partner relations coordinator for the Iowa Donor Network, presented a Legacy Award to the Muscatine County Medical Examiner’s Office at the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 4, 2025.
The award recognizes what the Iowa Donor Network described as leadership, education, gratitude, advocacy, clinical excellence and innovation. Franz said Muscatine County’s policy of reporting “every death every time” has led to substantial referral activity: “get this, 1,094 potential donors to date over the last 3 years, resulting in an enormously impactful 58 tissue and cornea donors,” Franz said.
Franz told the board that referrals let the Iowa Donor Network evaluate donation suitability, work with families about donation wishes and support grieving relatives. “I can say with absolute certainty that in Muscatine County, Iowa, every family has the opportunity to make that decision for their loved ones thanks to this team,” Franz said.
Board members and staff posed for a brief photo with three members of the Muscatine County Medical Examiner’s Office who attended the meeting. No formal action was required or taken by the board on the award during the meeting.
Background provided by Franz during the presentation emphasized the county office’s role as a model for other medical examiner offices in Iowa: the network is encouraging other offices to adopt similar referral practices so families can be offered the chance to consider donation.
