HonorBridge

11/16/2025

🌟 Meet Our Chief Officers: Kim Koontz, COO 🌟
HonorBridge COO Kim Koontz started her journey in donation speaking with families about cornea donation. In 2004, she joined HonorBridge as a tissue recovery coordinator, and over the next two decades, she held roles from call center manager to director of tissue services before stepping into her current role as COO in 2017.
💬“As COO, I look at where we could go and what we could do. I do some research, analyze data, and partner with other leaders about opportunities for the organization. For me, it’s about building a foundation and vision and helping remove barriers for folks to do their day-to-day job.”
Read more: https://honorbridge.org/blog/get-to-know-our-chief-officers-meet-kim-koontz-chief-operating-officer

11/11/2025

🏍️This Veterans Day, we honor the many donor veterans, like Patrick Brozowski, whose service continues even after their lifetime.
💙"My husband was a proud father, Marine, and member of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. We were both involved in a motorcycle accident, and while I recovered, he did not. Through a directed donation, I was able to receive one of his tissue grafts. I might not be able to grow old with him, but now, I can grow old with a piece of him." -Liz

🔗Read Patrick’s story here: https://honorbridge.org/stories-of-hope/patrick-brozowskis-story-beyond-the-battlefield/

11/11/2025

💙 This National Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week, we celebrate Eric Gill, a palliative care NP and liver transplant recipient.
Eric knows firsthand what it means to face illness—after nearly 20 years with cirrhosis, he received a lifesaving liver transplant in June 2024. Now, he brings that experience to his patients, offering empathy that comes from truly “being there.”
🔗Read more: https://honorbridge.org/stories-of-hope/eric-gill-a-nurse-practitioners-second-chance-2/

11/06/2025

💙 “Trying every time is so important—new technologies let us save lives we couldn’t before.” – Dr. Andrew Barbas, Duke Transplant Surgeon Duke University Hospital
From liver and kidney to pediatric transplants, Dr. Barbas uses cutting-edge technology to give more patients a second chance at life, even using organs once considered too risky.
Hear more from Dr. Barbas about the importance of innovation on saving and healing lives: https://bit.ly/47xu7Ik

11/05/2025

💙A Special Message from Leadership 💚

Today, our President and CEO, Danielle Bumarch announced that she will retire in June 2026 following 27 years of service to HonorBridge. Since 1999, Danielle has been integral to the growth and success of our organization. She has led us to continuous record-breaking growth, increasing the number of lives saved through donation by 63% over the past decade.

👏Danielle has fostered a vibrant culture at HonorBridge rooted in a true neighborly spirit; everyone at HonorBridge strives to make a life-changing difference in our community. True to her nature, Danielle has allowed ample time to ensure HonorBridge is left in good hands and will assist the board in its nationwide search for her successor.

🫶 As Danielle embarks on this well-deserved journey to retirement, we invite you to join us in thanking Danielle for her unwavering dedication to our donor heroes, their families, and the thousands of North Carolinians on the transplant waiting list.

💙💚From all of us at HonorBridge: Danielle, we will miss the guidance, compassion, and warmth that defines you as a leader. We wish you all the best.

🔗https://honorbridge.org/blog-featured/a-special-message-from-leadership-after-decades-of-saving-and-healing-lives-danielle-bumarch-set-to-retire-as-president-and-ceo-in-june-2026/

11/03/2025

👁️✨ November is Eye Donation Awareness Month, a time to honor the gift of sight and the donors who make it possible.
Through cornea donation, just one person can restore vision for up to two people, giving them the chance to see loved ones, experience the world more fully, and live with greater independence.
This month, we remember those who have given the gift of sight and encourage everyone to consider saying “yes” to eye, organ, and tissue donation. Your decision can truly change how someone sees the world. 💙💚Sign up to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor today!

11/02/2025

💙 As we continue to celebrate 40 years of impact in 2025, we’re honored to share the story of Delores Evans.
After battling kidney disease for 30+ years, Delores’ life was forever changed after her son, Ryan, provided her with the gift of life after he passed.
For the past 15+ years, Delores has been an incredible volunteer and advocate, inspiring countless people to say “yes” to organ, eye, and tissue donation.
Read more: honorbridge.org/blog-featured/a-conversation-with-delores-evans-donor-mom-kidney-recipient-and-honorbridge-volunteer

11/01/2025

More than 104,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Sadly, former NFL star Nick Mangold was among those who never received one in time. He was also a beloved son, husband, father, teammate, and friend.
Honor his memory by signing up to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor after death at HonorBridge.org. 💚

🔗https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46732108/nick-mangold-former-jets-star-center-dies-age-41

Former New York Jets center Nick Mangold has died due to complications from kidney disease. He was 41.

10/31/2025

👻Ghosts are spooky. 🧟Zombies are spooky. But what's really scary? Aunt Marge could live longer (thanks to organ donation). This Halloween, you can save lives by signing up to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor (Aunt Marge's included)! Sign up today! https://honorbridge.org/registerme/

10/28/2025

🚑 This , we’re spotlighting Alyssa Schuster, a former paramedic and medical examiner who now serves as HonorBridge’s EMS/ME Liaison.
Alyssa bridges the gap between first responders and donation—educating, advocating, and helping save more lives. 💙
Read her story ➡️ https://honorbridge.org/blog/bridging-the-gap-an-interview-with-alyssa-schuster-ems-medical-examiner-liaison-at-honorbridge

10/25/2025

👏 We are inspired by the lifelong work of Dr. Clive O. Callender. As one of the nation’s first Black transplant surgeons, he spent over six decades relentlessly breaking down barriers and advancing equity in organ donation and transplantation for Black Americans and other historically underserved populations.

🥼In addition to training hundreds of physicians and performing over 600 lifesaving transplant surgeries, Dr. Callender has led the charge in eliminating racial biases from organ matching policies and processes, securing more transplants for patients of color. He founded the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), which continues to educate and empower communities nationwide and increase minority organ donor registration rates.

💙💚Dr. Callender's dedication has saved thousands of lives and shaped the ethical frameworks that guide the U.S. organ donation and transplant system. Our community feels his impact every day, and we are grateful for his leadership.

🔗Learn more in this powerful article from Word In Black: https://wordinblack.com/2025/10/hes-a-legendary-transplant-surgeon-at-88-his-work-isnt-done/

📝Photo credit: Dr. Clive O. Callender photographed in his family home in Silver Spring, Maryland on June 16, 2025. Credit: William Vargas for Word In Black

10/24/2025

🫁Happy Respiratory Care Week!

➡️This week, we celebrate all the incredible Respiratory Therapists (RTs) who save lives every day. RTs play a vital role in hospitals across the country, managing ventilators, ensuring patients receive the right oxygen levels, and helping critically ill patients achieve the best possible outcomes.

🫶At HonorBridge, our RTs bring incredible value and insight to our donor management process, ensuring we maximize the gift of life.

🗣️"Our Respiratory Therapists are an integral part of our team. Their expertise brings tremendous value to every stage of donor management, from authorization to the operating room. Their dedication to our mission is inspiring, and we’re so grateful to have them.” —Anderson Rodriguez, Manager of Organ Services
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