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LifeNet Health Foundation tells council its work supports thousands of donor families and global allograft distribution
Summary
Will Driscoll, director of the LifeNet Health Foundation, told council that LifeNet is an organ procurement organization and the nation’s largest tissue processor, described donor‑family services and outreach programs, and cited 2025 figures — including 3,400 Virginia donor families supported and more than 1,000,000 allografts distributed worldwide.
Will Driscoll, director of the LifeNet Health Foundation, briefed the Virginia Beach City Council on the foundation’s role in organ and tissue donation, donor‑family support and community outreach.
Driscoll described LifeNet Health as a nonprofit leader in regenerative medicine that operates as both an organ procurement organization (OPO) and the nation’s largest tissue processor. He told council the organization’s OPO footprint covers much of Virginia and parts of neighboring states and that tissue distribution extends globally.
Why it matters: LifeNet Health’s operations in Virginia Beach support transplant logistics, donor‑family services and research, and the foundation provides local grants, memorials and bereavement programs the presenter said are intended to sustain donor families and raise public awareness.
Details and figures cited:
- Donation and distribution: Driscoll said LifeNet supported 3,400 Virginia donor families in 2025 and more than 6,000 donor families overall across the organization’s footprint; he also said the organization distributed more than 1,000,000 allografts worldwide last year.
- Local workforce and footprint: The organization reported 14 offices worldwide and seven in Virginia Beach, with approximately 900 of its roughly 1,500 global employees based in Virginia Beach; Driscoll noted the global headquarters and education innovation campus near Sentara Princess Anne.
- Donor‑family services and outreach: The foundation funds donor memorials at hospitals, runs a 30‑month bereavement touchpoint program for families, and organizes community events and a “thanks to you” letter program (more than 4,000 recipient letters in the last year).
- Patient stories: Driscoll shared brief accounts of recipients whose lives were changed by donation, including a child (Parker) who needed a tissue aortic valve, a service member (Joey) who received a heart transplant, and a breast‑cancer patient (Megan) whose reconstruction used donated tissue.
Council response: Several council members praised the organization for its local impact, shared personal connections to transplantation and donation, and asked for a tour of the LifeNet campus. Council members also thanked LifeNet for memorials and donor‑recognition programs within local hospitals.
What the foundation asked of council: Driscoll invited councilmembers to engage with the foundation’s outreach efforts and to help spread accurate information about organ and tissue donation to encourage registration and family conversations.
Next steps: Council members expressed interest in site visits and additional outreach collaboration; no formal action or funding decisions were taken at the meeting.
