The Annual Heckenkemper Leader in Transplant Administration / Quality Award (also known as the Heckenkemper Award) is given each year at the UNOS Transplant Management Forum (TMF) to an individual who has made significant contributions to organ donation and transplantation. This year the community recognizes Nancy Metzler, Executive Director of Transplant Services, University of Rochester Medical Center for her two decades of service to the donation and transplant community,
“Her work in the field of transplantation and as an organizational leader has been highly praised by her colleagues,” says Alexander Aussi, the CEO of Guidry & East, LLC, who presented the award to Nancy. “Nancy fosters a collaborative environment to ensure optimal patient outcomes and program success.” Dedicating her career to serving patients as an Executive Director of Transplant Services for 20 years, she has also contributed to many local, state, and national committees and boards, focusing on improving the transplant and procurement system.
During her acceptance speech, Nancy shared her journey as a transplant administrator. She expressed her deep gratitude towards her colleagues and industry professionals, acknowledging their invaluable contributions to the field. She mentioned that it is a profession she enjoys because of the unique challenges that make transplant special, the complexity, and the mission that comes with amazing teamwork. “We have the unique privilege as transplant administrators to support our team as they turn a tragedy into a miracle,” she said. “I want to thank everyone in this room who dedicates themselves to this life-giving endeavor and look forward to collaborating with all of you to continue this magnificent journey.”
The Heckenkemper Award was established in memory of Deedle Heckenkemper and honors the contributions he made in the foundation and development of the OPTN Transplant Administrators Committee and the donation and transplantation community. The award is sponsored annually by Guidry & East, LLC. Nominations are provided by the community and winners are selected by the UNOS TMF Planning Committee based on specific criteria. You can see a list of previous winners here.
UNOS and the TMF Planning committee would like to thank our many sponsors and exhibitors for their support of the 2024 UNOS TMF. Our meeting was made possible by many generous sponsors and exhibitors, most of which return annually to TMF to support UNOS in fostering collaboration and transformative learning in transplant management.
UNOS appreciates all of our conference sponsors/exhibitors for their critical support of TMF. Special thanks to our Diamond sponsor CareDx and Platinum sponsors All Call Nursing, Cincinnati Children’s, Lung Bioengineering, Nationwide Organ Recovery Transport Alliance (NORA), TransMedics, and UK Transplant Center.
TMF celebrated its 32nd year convening professionals in the donation and transplant community. TMF’s educational sessions and networking opportunities create channels for sharing knowledge, collaborative innovation and critical thinking. We look forward to gathering with the community again for the 33rd Annual Transplant Management Forum in San Antonio, TX from May 5-7, 2025.
