Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance Names Helen Bottenfield as Executive Director


Philadelphia, PA (December 3, 2010)—The Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance has named Helen Bottenfield as its Executive Director. The Alliance is a consortium of national organizations critical to the organ donation and transplantation process which work to eliminate deaths on the national organ transplant wait list.

Ms. Bottenfield had been serving as executive director on an interim basis since June 2010. Prior to that, she served as an independent consultant to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Division of Transplantation for the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Improvement Initiatives. Ms. Bottenfield has also served as a consultant to the Alliance from 2006-2010, assisting with the development of the organization.

“The board is delighted to appoint Ms. Bottenfield as the Alliance’s executive director,” explained Lori Brigham, president of the Alliance. “She brings to the position her life-long passion for excellence in donation and transplantation. Her years of experience with HRSA and organ procurement organizations [OPOs], as well as her leadership expertise and her amazing energy and drive create the best formula to move the organ donation and transplantation community to new performance levels.”

Ms. Bottenfield began her career as a critical care nurse. She has more than 40 years experience in healthcare and more than 30 years experience in the field of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. She served as the executive director and senior vice president of LifeNet Health, an OPO based in Virginia, until July 2004. She has been active in many transplant-related organizations, including the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO), the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), Donate LifeAmerica and the United Network for Organ Sharing. She has served as AOPO’s president, serves as chairperson of the board of directors of Donate Life America and vice-chair of the Eastern Virginia Lions Medical Eye Bank.

Ms. Bottenfield has received the AOPO Excellence in Leadership Award, the AOPO president’s Award for Integrity in Leadership, and was elected an emeritus member of AOPO in 2006. She has also received the AATB’s Jeanne C. Mowe Distinguished Service Award. In her role with HRSA, she has been awarded several medals of honor.

The Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance is a consortium of national organizations critical to the organ donation and transplantation process whose main goal is to eliminate deaths on the national organ transplant wait list. The Alliance, the result of a concentrated effort led by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, includes The American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Hospital Association, the American Society of Transplantation, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the Joint Commission and the United Network for Organ Sharing.

401 North 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19123 215-599-2039 www.organdonationalliance.org