Live On Nebraska

What Live On Nebraska does

Live On Nebraska is a non-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) and the sole entity federally designated to facilitate organ, tissue, and eye donation in the state of Nebraska, with an extended service area into southwest Iowa. Founded in 1977 as Nebraska Organ Recovery and rebranded in January 2019, the organization coordinates the recovery of six transplantable organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and small intestines), a broad tissue portfolio (corneas, heart valves, skin, veins, bone, tendons), and birth tissue (placenta, umbilical cord, amniotic fluid). Per its own disclosures, one organ donor can save up to eight lives, one tissue donor can help 100+ patients, and a single birth tissue donation can help up to 15 recipients. The organization operates from a 20,000 sq ft facility in Omaha and runs the region's first dedicated Donor Care Unit (opened November 2024 at CHI Health CUMC - Bergan Mercy).

The business operates on a non-profit funding model combining charitable donations, event-based fundraising (e.g., Rally for Life Run/Walk, Life & Legacy Celebration), and standard OPO reimbursement mechanisms for organ and tissue acquisition. Services are provided free of charge to donor families and recipients; revenue supporting operations is generated separately. The organization employs 65+ staff led by President & CEO Kyle Herber (since 2012) and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lee Morrow, and is governed by its designated OPO status under UNOS. Distribution to donors runs through a multi-channel community outreach program including hospital referral networks, Donate Life License Plates, school-based educator resources, the Girl Scouts Patch Program, and signature annual events. The organization's primary 'customers' in a revenue sense are transplant centers and federal healthcare payors, while its mission-facing constituents are Nebraska residents aged 16+, donor families, transplant recipients, expectant mothers, and a network of hospital, funeral home, and coroner partners across the region.

The underlying technology stack is conventional healthcare-IT oriented: donor registry systems and organ/tissue matching coordination operating under the UNOS national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. The organization has no mobile application, no public API or SDK, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. Its competitive position rests entirely on its regulatory monopoly as Nebraska's designated OPO and the multi-decade network of hospital, funeral home, coroner, and community relationships that would be effectively impossible for a new entrant to replicate.

Name

Live On Nebraska

Legal name

Live On Nebraska

Website

https://liveonnebraska.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organ and Tissue Procurement Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Organ procurement
• Tissue donation
• Birth tissue donation
• Donor family support
• Transplant coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Omaha

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals, organizations, and fundraising events such as the Rodski Open golf tournament. The organization is a non-profit that relies on community support.
2. Event-based Fundraising: Revenue from event registrations and merchandise such as hero signs ($15 each) at events like the Life & Legacy Celebration.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Live On Nebraska is Nebraska's only federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO), coordinating the recovery of organs, tissues, eyes, and birth tissue from deceased donors for transplantation across Nebraska and southwest Iowa. The organization provides 24/7 donor evaluation and surgical recovery, tissue processing, donor family support and bereavement services, public donor registration through the Donate Life registry, and community education on donation.

Product overview

Live On Nebraska is a non-profit Donate Life Organization that serves as Nebraska's only organization facilitating organ, tissue and eye donation. The organization offers a coordinated suite of services including organ donation (capable of saving up to 8 lives per donor), tissue donation (healing 100+ patients per donor), and birth tissue donation (helping 15+ people per donation). Supporting services include donor registration, aftercare programs for donor families, education and awareness initiatives, and community events like the Rally for Life Run/Walk and Life & Legacy Celebration. The organization rebranded from Nebraska Organ Recovery to Live On Nebraska in January 2019 and operates from a 20,000 sq ft facility at 3867 Leavenworth St., Omaha, NE.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organ Donation Coordination Services End-to-end deceased organ donation coordination, including donor evaluation, organ recovery, and transplantation logistics, performed exclusively for Nebraska and southwest Iowa residents at no charge to donor families or recipients.
• Tissue Donation Services Recovery and processing of donated tissues (such as bone, skin, and connective tissues) from deceased donors for transplantation and medical use, coordinated across Nebraska and southwest Iowa.
• Eye Donation Services Recovery of donated corneas and ocular tissue from deceased donors for sight-restoring transplantation, offered across Nebraska and southwest Iowa.
• Birth Tissue Donation Program Specialty donation program enabling expectant mothers delivering at partner hospitals to donate placenta and birth tissue for wound care and surgical applications, with no impact on delivery or newborn care.
• Donor Family Aftercare and Bereavement Support Comprehensive bereavement support, aftercare services, and annual Life & Legacy Celebration events for families of deceased donors across Nebraska and southwest Iowa.
• Voluntary Donor Registration Services Administration of first-person voluntary donor registration through the Nebraska Donate Life registry, including DMV partnership and online portal registration for residents of Nebraska.
• Community Education and Awareness Programs Community outreach programs, public education on organ, tissue, eye, and birth tissue donation, and awareness-building events such as the annual Rally for Life Run/Walk across Nebraska.

Quantifiable outcome

• One donor can save up to eight lives and heal 100+ people through organ and tissue donation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan MercyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Designated primary organ procurement site for all CHI Health hospitals across Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Opened region\'s first dedicated Donor Care Unit in November 2024, staffed by experienced donation professionals.
• Strategic Air Command & Aerospace MuseumminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 June 2019Event venue for annual Celebration of Heroes, hosting over 100 donor families and recipients in 2019.
• Douglas County Coroner's OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Co-location arrangement in new facility completed January 2018. Collaboration enables efficient communication when donation and coroner investigations occur simultaneously. Approximately 30% of 2018 donors involved coroner collaboration.
• Lancaster County Sheriff's OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with law enforcement to facilitate organ donation processes while maintaining investigative integrity. Awarded Spirit of Collaboration Award by Live On Nebraska.
• Lions Eye Bank of NebraskacoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for eye tissue recovery and corneal transplantation. Collaborated at Celebration of Heroes event to honor eye donors and recipients.
• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)flagshipTechnology or IntegrationNational Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network that matches donors to recipients. Live On Nebraska operates under UNOS regulations as Nebraska\'s designated OPO.
• Nebraska MedicineflagshipImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMajor transplant center performing organ transplant surgeries including heart, liver, kidney, and lung transplants. Recipient of organs recovered by Live On Nebraska.
• Children's NebraskacoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPediatric hospital partner for child transplant recipients. Performed balloon expansion procedure and coordinates pediatric transplant care.
• Bryan HealthcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHospital partner including ER doctors who support donation awareness. ER physician Alison Benson raised $6,000 for donation awareness through dancing video campaign.
• Legacy on the BricksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent venue in downtown Kearney, Nebraska that hosts Life & Legacy Celebration. Owners Cody & Bailey Bolte gifted wall space for donation awareness mural.
• Impact ArtminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal artist group that created Legacy on the Bricks mural honoring organ donation recipients and donors including Izzy Warrington and Abby Findley.
• Donate Life AmericaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization coordinating organ, eye, and tissue donation awareness. Live On Nebraska is a Donate Life Organization affiliated with this network.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Donor Network West: OPO serving Northern California and Nevada with organ, tissue, and eye donation services. Operates the same UNOS-regulated model and similar hospital partnership approach, providing a peer for larger-scale OPO operations.
• Iowa Donor Network: Designated OPO serving Iowa, the neighboring state to Live On Nebraska's southwest Iowa territory. Operates the same organ, tissue, and eye donation model with comparable hospital referral networks and Donate Life America affiliation, making it the most direct geographic and operational peer.
• Gift of Life Donor Program: Largest OPO in the United States, serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Operates the same organ and tissue procurement model under UNOS, but at substantially greater scale; useful as a benchmark for what a mature OPO franchise can achieve.
• LifeNet Health: Organ and tissue procurement organization headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Comparable in offering organ and tissue recovery services, with particular strength in tissue processing and allograft production that mirrors Live On Nebraska's tissue donation portfolio.
• LifeSource: Upper Midwest OPO serving Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Comparable in size and operational scope to Live On Nebraska, providing organ, tissue, and eye donation services through a similar hospital referral model and UNOS regulatory framework.
• Donor Alliance: OPO serving Colorado and Wyoming with comparable size and service mix to Live On Nebraska. Operates organ, tissue, and eye donation programs through similar hospital referral networks and Donate Life America affiliation.
• Mid-America Transplant: OPO serving Missouri, southern Illinois, and northeastern Arkansas. Comparable mid-sized OPO offering organ and tissue procurement with similar hospital partnership structures and innovation-focused programs, frequently cited among higher-performing regional OPOs.

Others

• Donate Life America: National non-profit organization that coordinates organ, eye, and tissue donation awareness across all U.S. OPOs. Live On Nebraska is a Donate Life Organization affiliate, making Donate Life America a key ecosystem partner and brand-licensing counterpart rather than a direct competitor.
• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS): National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network contractor that operates the organ matching system and sets regulatory standards for all U.S. OPOs including Live On Nebraska. Acts as the governing infrastructure provider rather than a competitor, but materially shapes the organization's operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• MTF Biologics: National tissue bank and processor with a broader portfolio spanning musculoskeletal, wound care, and sports medicine grafts. While not a regional OPO, MTF Biologics interfaces directly with OPOs as a tissue processing partner, making it a comparable incumbent in tissue recovery and distribution.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/liveonnebraska
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NebraskaOrgan/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/LiveOnNebraska
• Instagraminstagram.com/liveonnebraska
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nebraska-organ-recovery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Live On Nebraska