SpecialtyCare, Vituity, and Buckeye Transplant Solutions Announce a Best-In-Class Organ Recovery Partnership as TierOne Alliance

Three clinical leaders unite under a nationwide model built for the realities of modern transplant medicine.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Organ transplantation in America is advancing and with it, an increasing complexity required to serve transplant centers and their patients waiting on the lifesaving gift of organ donation. Organ procurement volumes have reached record highs for fourteen consecutive years. At the same time, allocation policy changes have expanded transplantation across broader geographies, and the clinical community continues to redefine what is possible in service of donors and patients awaiting transplant.

Today, SpecialtyCare, Vituity, and Buckeye Transplant Solutions announce a three-partner organ recovery alliance designed to help transplant centers and OPOs keep pace with innovation in the donation and transplant continuum. Each organization brings a distinct and complementary strength:

• SpecialtyCare’s national perfusion and NRP expertise
• Vituity’s surgeon-led recovery model and dedicated full-time surgical teams
• Buckeye’s transplant coordination, logistics, and data platform.

Together, as TierOne Alliance, they operate as a unified recovery system, from first call through organ handoff.

What distinguishes this partnership is a strategic alignment of specialized organizations operating under a shared clinical and operational framework. While others have pursued integrated recovery through acquisition, this alliance is built on partnership: consistent teams, standardized protocols, real time deployment, and data infrastructure that connects every element of the recovery process to drive organ utilization.

At its core, TierOne Alliance is built on a surgeon-led model that ensures clinical decision-making, accountability, and consistency across every recovery. Recovery operations have evolved beyond coordination alone. Improvements in allocation policy and preservation device technology have expanded what is clinically possible, allowing organs to travel farther and remain viable longer. Simultaneously, these advancements introduce new layers of operational complexity: more decision points, innovation in recovery and perfusion, and increased reliance on data surrounding outcomes. TierOne Alliance is built for that reality; aligning surgical, perfusion, and coordination workflows into a single, integrated model that not only keeps pace with innovation, but helps translate it into more transplant opportunities.

How the Partnership Works

Standardized, Consistent Teams. The partnership provides transplant centers and OPOs with the same high standard of surgical, perfusion, and coordination support in every case, regardless of geography, time of day, or case complexity. Guaranteed coverage means programs can accept more organs with confidence leading to more lives saved.

Advanced Preparation and Training. TierOne Alliance is built on a clinical model that prioritizes surgeon preparation before teams enter the field. Led by Dr. Hassan Tetteh, MD, MBA, FAMIA, Vice President of Organ Recovery at Vituity, and Brian Lima, MD, MBA, Vice President and National Medical Directory of Organ Recovery Services at SpecialtyCare, both nationally recognized leaders in heart and lung transplantation and longtime advocates for standardization in organ recovery, the alliance has developed a high-fidelity, simulation-based training curriculum designed to build procedural consistency across DBD, DCD and NRP recovery cases. The alliance applies defined standards for surgeon credentialing, team composition, and recovery workflows — ensuring that every deployment reflects the same level of clinical readiness regardless of geography or case complexity.

Real-Time Data and Outcomes Visibility. The alliance integrates real-time analytics powered by Buckeye’s LENS™ platform and supporting infrastructure, providing shared visibility into offer management, case status, logistics routing, and outcomes data across the full recovery continuum. This shared data layer, combined with clinically validated outcomes tracking across surgical performance, enables continuous feedback loops that improve organ utilization, efficiency, and transplant outcomes over time.

Partner Perspectives

“Organ recovery has become too complex to depend on ad hoc execution. DCD, NRP, broader allocation, and advanced preservation require defined teams, reproducible workflows, and a training model that prepares surgeons and perfusion teams before they are in the field. TierOne Alliance is about building that standard—not just covering the next case, but creating a more reliable recovery system.”
— Matt Gray, President, SpecialtyCare

“Every donor represents a life that touched others and still has the power to save. In the moments when loss and hope coexist, our mission is to improve and save lives. We unite surgeon-led recovery with organ-preservation innovation and data-driven transplant workflows to build a system defined by precision, integrity, and accountability. This ensures every gift is honored in intention and in outcomes, transforming lives and setting a new standard for excellence.”
— Hassan Tetteh, MD, MBA, FAMIA, Vice President of Organ Recovery, Vituity

“As the nation’s largest provider of transplant services, Buckeye has built its technology platform around optimizing organ evaluation and recovery workflows to improve transplant outcomes. The TierOne Alliance brings clinical coordination, logistics, analytics, and surgical expertise into a unified ecosystem designed to reduce variability and help programs convert more opportunities into successful transplants. This model is designed to support transplant programs of every size, improving the data, visibility, and organ recovery capacity.”
— Jared Ackley, President, Buckeye Transplant Solutions

Launching Today to Increase the Recovery Capacity of Tomorrow

The partnership makes its official debut of coordinated service operations beginning immediately, with a strategic roadmap for expanded hub coverage to combat the rising cost of organ recovery while increasing access to consistent, high-quality surgical, perfusion, and coordination support nationwide. As case volume grows, shared data across the platform will continue to inform operational improvements, helping drive greater efficiency, utilization, and transplant outcomes.

Transplant centers and OPOs interested in learning more are encouraged to visit https://tieronealliance.com/.

About SpecialtyCare

SpecialtyCare partners with hospitals and surgery centers to integrate seamlessly into the operating room. With a deep roster of over 1,800 specialists in Cardiac, Neuro, and Surgical services, we enhance patient outcomes, expand coverage, and reduce costs. Leveraging cutting-edge tools, technology, and tens of thousands of hours of experience, we are the premier partner for hospitals. Our SpecialtyCare Operative Procedural Registry (SCOPE™) drives innovation and sets benchmarks for superior care. Accredited by The Joint Commission and trusted by over 1,200 hospitals, SpecialtyCare supports effective OR and ICU operations. Visit https://specialtycareus.com/ for more.

About Buckeye Transplant Solutions

Buckeye is the largest provider of technology-enabled transplant coordination services in the country, supporting programs across all organ types with a deeply experienced clinical and logistics workforce. Our national scale gives us unmatched visibility into best practices, operational patterns, and performance benchmarks, creating a powerful network effect that strengthens every center we support.

Through our integrated technology platform, built in partnership with Afflo, we bring automation, real-time data, and standardized workflows to historically manual processes. The result is a high-reliability transplant ecosystem that improves readiness, accelerates decision-making, and helps programs grow efficiently and sustainably. Visit www.buckeyetransplant.com to learn more.

About Vituity

For over 50 years, Vituity has been raising the standard of care and transforming how, when and where care is delivered. As a physician owned and led multispecialty partnership, our 8,000+ doctors and clinicians care for over 14 million patients annually across more than 890 practices and twelve acute care specialties.

Vituity’s patient focus and commitment to clinical excellence are the driving forces that place us at the heart of better care. Our frontline clinicians and business leaders develop healthcare solutions that improve outcomes for patients and hospitals. Our innovation hub, Inflect Health identifies early-stage health-tech companies and facilitates a connection to physicians for testing and our charitable foundation, Vituity Cares, extends our reach into communities that are most affected by healthcare disparities.

Vituity is driven to continually transform healthcare through our collective passion for patients. Learn more at vituity.com.