Nevada Donor Network Opens Specialized Care Unit
The 6,000-square-foot Las Vegas facility is designed to improve organ donation and transplant outcomes.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Stroke
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The Nevada Donor Network has opened a 6,000-square-foot Donor Care Unit on the east side of Las Vegas. This facility is the first of its kind in Nevada and serves to provide specialized space for organ preservation and medical staff training.
Why it matters
The unit aims to maximize local organ donation and reduce the need for Nevadans to travel out of state for transplant procedures. By housing specialized equipment like kidney pumps, it seeks to eliminate long wait lists for those awaiting life-saving organs.
The unit currently occupies 6,000 square feet but is planned to expand to 30,000 square feet at the Sahara Avenue site. It joins over a dozen similar units across the United States that leverage advanced preservation technology to support organ viability.
The players
Nevada Donor Network
This organization is a federally designated non-profit that facilitates organ and tissue donation for the state of Nevada.
The details
The facility contains dedicated operating rooms and kidney pumps used to preserve and transport organs. It also provides a training environment for doctors and nurses to improve specialized transplant care within the state.
Timeline
The Nevada Donor Network facility opened on October 26, 2026.
The first organ donor outcome at the new facility is planned for the end of 2026.
Health Landscape
The facility marks Nevada's entry into the national network of organ procurement organization donor care units, moving it into alignment with states that already utilize specialized, dedicated care facilities for organ preservation.
Residents currently requiring non-kidney organ transplants often face the financial and logistical burden of traveling out of state. This new facility aims to keep more patients in Nevada for their care, potentially reducing the strain on those on the transplant wait list.
The takeaway
With 15 people dying daily in the U.S. while waiting for an organ, the addition of dedicated donor care infrastructure is a critical step in preserving life. One donor can save up to eight lives and improve the health of up to 75 others, highlighting the impact of local donation efforts.
What happens next
The Nevada Donor Network is scheduled to perform its first organ donor outcome in the new facility by the end of 2026.
Further reading
Learn more about local health initiatives in the Las Vegas Stroke section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KTNV.
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