UConn School of Medicine medical student Mia Haynes is having a very special, hands-on summer learning experience to help others in need.

She is training in the New England Donor Services (NEDS), the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization responsible for the recovery of organs and tissues for transplant in the New England region.

She is part of a small cohort of medical students selected to participate in the second year of NEDS’ Galen V. Henderson, MD Program, an 8-week immersive experience developed for medical students of diverse backgrounds to learn about organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

Haynes of Salem, New Hampshire, is a graduate of UConn Storrs with a BSE in biomedical engineering with a concentration in biomaterials/tissue engineering.

Her life was first touched by the importance of organ donation after one of her neighbors needed a heart transplant. Later, Haynes found herself personally in need of a tissue donation after her own ACL injury.

“This internship is truly a unique opportunity and has been one of the most rewarding and educational parts of my academic career so far. This internship goes beyond a traditional summer experience and incorporates academic research, community engagement, narrative medicine, and clinical activities,” says Haynes of UConn School of Medicine’s Class of 2029. “Even in eight weeks, I have found myself deeply touched by the mission of NEDS and will incorporate many of these lessons I’ve learned this summer into my future clinical practice.”

The program is named in honor of Dr. Galen V. Henderson, who was an associate medical director of New England Donor Services and first Black neurointensivist in the United States. He became director of Neurocritical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2001 and was the recipient of three awards from the Department of Health and Human Services for his contributions to the field of organ donation. He served in several national leadership roles in organ donation and was instrumental in standardizing neurocritical pathways in the context of organ donation. Dr. Henderson passed away on December 28, 2023, at the age of 57.

The program is providing Haynes and her cohort of fellow medical students a hybrid learning model combining on-site seminars with experiential activities in clinical and community settings. Clinicians, scientists, and other notable experts expose students to different career paths and teach about the donation and transplant system, infectious disease and immunology, neurocritical care, ethics, organ allocation, disparities, and emerging technologies, among other topics. A hallmark feature of the program is the opportunity for students to talk to organ donor families, living donors, and transplant patients. Students also observe organ and tissue recovery, shadow transplant physicians and surgeons at regional transplant centers, and complete a scholarly project as part of the program. Students are provided with a stipend from New England Donor Services (NEDS) to cover living expenses during the program and are mentored by experienced researchers at NEDS with academic appointments at Harvard Medical School and research collaborations nationally.

“This program has taught me about the complexities and multifaceted world of tissue and organ donation. This type of work is truly saving lives and changing lives for the better. It truly speaks to why I originally wanted to pursue a career and medicine,” says Haynes.

After the summer immersion experience, Haynes looks forward to continuously engaging with NEDS in their community activities and beyond.

“At UConn Health, I am part of the Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars Program which aims to provide a community focused medical education that works with underserved populations. These two organizations share many of the same qualities and missions and I look forward to my continuous engagement even after the culmination of this program. I aspire to use the experience I’ve gained from the compassion from family service coordinators, the grit and clinical excellence from the transplant surgeons, the tireless dedication from all NEDS staff members, the bravery from the patients and their families, and the new friendships I’ve gained with my fellow cohort students in a future career in surgery.”