2025 HAP Donate Life PA Hospital Challenge Honorees Announced
More than 100 Pa. hospitals support organ donation through awareness, education
August 27, 2025
Harrisburg, PA (August 27, 2025) – The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) announced today the health care teams being honored this year for championing organ, eye, and tissue donation within their hospitals and communities.
The annual Donate Life Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge encourages Pennsylvania hospitals to increase donation awareness. HAP partners with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the two organ procurement organizations serving Pennsylvania—the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Gift of Life Donor Program—to support the challenge.
During National Donate Life Month in April, participating hospitals supported donation through activities such as internal trainings and coordination meetings, campaigns to register new organ donors, community events, and public communications. Hospitals earned titanium, platinum, gold, silver, or bronze level recognitions for their efforts.
This year, participation in the challenge increased to 121 Pennsylvania hospitals. HAP applauds its members’ commitment to supporting and raising awareness of organ, eye, and tissue donation. More than 6,500 Pennsylvanians need a life-saving organ transplant. One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 others.
“Hospital teams rely on organ, eye, and tissue donors to save lives and give patients a chance for a bright future,” said HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings. “Pennsylvania hospitals and our partners have done an outstanding job of supporting and raising awareness about donation. We applaud the hospital teams who participated in our annual challenge and demonstrated their strong commitment to improving the health of their communities.”
The top performers of the 2025 HAP Donate Life Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge are:
CORE Top Performers (Western Pennsylvania)
Top Health Systems
- First Place: Allegheny Health Network
- Second Place: Independence Health System
- Third Place: UPMC
Top Hospitals
- First Place: UPMC Presbyterian
- Second Place: AHN Allegheny General Hospital
- Third Place: AHN Wexford
Gift of Life Donor Program Top Performers (Eastern Pennsylvania)
Top Health Systems
- First Place: Main Line Health System
- Second Place: Temple University Health
- Third Place: Tower Health
Top Hospitals
- First Place: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Second Place: Bryn Mawr Hospital
- Third Place: UPMC Williamsport
A full list of hospital designations resulting from the challenge and more information about the scoring process are available online.
“Organ and tissue donations give Pennsylvanians a new lease on life by both saving lives and improving the quality of life for transplant recipients,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “The Department deeply appreciates and thanks the health care professionals and hospitals across the Commonwealth that promote organ and tissue donation through campaigns to register new organ donors, community events, and other outreach. If you have not done so already, please consider registering to be an organ and tissue donor.”
“The HAP Donate Life Hospital Challenge shows the incredible impact we can make when hospitals and organ procurement organizations unite around a common mission,” said Susan Stuart, President and CEO of CORE. “Across Pennsylvania, hospital teams are leading with heart—starting conversations about donation, encouraging people to take that life-saving step, and standing beside donor families in their moments of courage. Their leadership not only saves lives but also strengthens communities and delivers hope to those still waiting for a second chance. CORE is profoundly thankful for these hospital partners whose compassion and dedication make this lifesaving work possible.”
“For 50 years, Gift of Life has proudly worked alongside our hospital partners to deliver hope, healing, and lifesaving second chances to those in need,” said Richard D. Hasz, Jr., MFS, CPTC, President and CEO of Gift of Life Donor Program. “We applaud the innovation and dedication of HAP and our hospital partners through the HAP Donate Life Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge. We are deeply grateful for the vital role hospitals play in championing organ and tissue donation and inspiring countless individuals to say ‘yes’ to saving lives. Their unwavering compassion and commitment ensure that every donor hero and their family are honored with dignity and the highest respect. Together, we will not rest until no one dies waiting for the gift of life.”
About HAP: The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) is a statewide member services organization that advocates on behalf of Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems to advance high-quality, accessible, and financially sustainable health care. HAP’s more than 235 member organizations include the majority of hospitals across the commonwealth. Additional information about HAP is available online.
About CORE: The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of more than 50 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States, serving more than five million people in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. CORE coordinates the recovery and matching of organs, tissues and corneas for transplant within our service region, and works tirelessly to create a culture of donation within the hospitals and communities we serve. CORE’s mission is to Save and Heal lives through donation, ultimately ending the deaths of those on the transplant waiting list, while maintaining integrity for the donation process, dignity for the donors, and compassion for their families. CORE is a winner of the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a presidential award that recognizes nonprofits for their innovation and excellence. For more information, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.
About Gift of Life Donor Program: Gift of Life Donor Program, founded in 1974 and headquartered in Philadelphia, is the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware serving 11.3 million people. It works with 124 acute care hospitals and 12 transplant centers in its region, as well as more than 100 transplant centers throughout the country, to provide the most comprehensive array of services available in the U.S. to the donation and transplantation community. Thanks to the generosity of its community, Gift of Life has coordinated 14,860 donors and 41,140 organs for transplant, the most of any OPO in the country since the inception of our national donation system in 1988. Overall, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 62,000 organs and more than two million tissue transplants since its founding. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and a tissue donor can improve the lives of 100 others. Learn more and sign up at donors1.org.
About Donate Life Pennsylvania: Donate Life Pennsylvania is a collaborative initiative between the Pennsylvania departments of Health, Education and Transportation and Pennsylvania’s two organ procurement organizations, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL). It is funded by residents of Pennsylvania through voluntary contributions included with driver’s license renewals, vehicle registrations and state income tax filings or direct donations to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund in care of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Trust Fund contributions are used to educate Pennsylvanians, build awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation, and increase the number of people who sign up to become organ donors on their driver's license or state identification card. More information is available at donatelifepa.org or facebook.com/DonateLifePennsylvania.