Numa: Preventing Unnecessary Deaths in Organ Donation Through Design
Numa minimizes subjectivity in organ assessment, improves organ utilization rates, and expedites transplant decision-making.
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
TIMELINE
Sep 2024 - Mar 2025
20 weeks
TOOL
Figma, FigJam, Rhino,
Adobe CC
TEAM
Project manager, UX Researcher, Interaction Designer
CONTEXT
Organ donation is a time-sensitive process and
despite of it…
Every 8 minutes, another person is added to the transplant waiting list, while viable organs go unused which is a critical organ shortage crisis. The current organ procurement and transplantation system faces critical inefficiencies, with a 1 in 5 chance that a viable organ won’t reach its recipient.
And now we are facing a major organ shortage crisis.
But why is it happening?
What is the root cause of the organ shortage crisis?
My team and I initially talked to transplant centers, and organ procurement experts and conducted multiple rounds of research to uncover the problems behind organ shortage.
Organ transplant process is a complicated and dynamic process.
PROBLEM
Fragmented communication & Data inconsistency among the Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) and Transplant Centers (TxCs) are leading to a delay in decision making, which resulted in organ discards.
Fragmented communication
Fragmented communication channels force teams to manually consolidate critical information outside primary systems.
Juggling multiple communication threads
Assessment data and organ images are sent via email, text, or even fax and creates multiple threads.
“We have a lot of information that doesn't go directly into our system. We have a lot of huddles and we do a lot of text threads.”
-Donyale, Director of organ coordination in Bay Area
Meticulous documentation
“Organ photos are not consistent in their positioning, lighting, quality or use of scale”
And these images are sent via email, text, or even fax and creates multiple threads.
“We have a lot of information that doesn't go directly into our system. We have a lot of huddles and we do a lot of text threads.”
-Donyale, Director of organ coordination in Bay Area
Data inconsistency
Poor quality of images
Procurement photos are used by surgical teams to assist in evaluating organ offers and these images are sent via email, text, or even fax and creates multiple threads.
“Organ photos are not consistent in their positioning, lighting, quality or use of scale.”
-Nicole, Transplant surgeon from Emory Hospital
THUS WE ASKED,
How can we develop a unified organizational profile and communication platform that both groups find easy to use?
THE USERS
To humanize the problem, I identified two primary user groups based on extensive stakeholder interviews (12+ sessions with OPO staff, transplant surgeons, etc.).
Organ procurement organizations (OPOs)
Organ procurement coordinators
Transplant surgeons
MY DESIGN DECISIONS
1. Essential VS. Optional:
Prioritizing a MVP product
Inconsistent organ evaluation due to unclear photos, leading to hesitation in accepting offers.
A shared space where both OPOs and transplant centers can exchange high-quality images using the Numa lens, powered by Hyperspectral imaging technology.
Shifting focus from web to mobile
"If we had the ability to use an easy, clear, and organized
interface on our phones, we could probably go through reviews a lot faster and better...”
—Nicole Schockor, MD
A shared space where both OPOs and transplant centers can exchange high-quality images using the Numa lens, powered by Hyperspectral imaging technology.
SOLUTION
A specialized procurement ecosystem that enhances assessment and decision-making among surgeons, OPO coordinators, and donor hospitals.
The ultimate goal is to save more lives by reducing organ discards and missed transplant opportunities through faster communication, better assessment tools, and seamless data sharing between all stakeholders.
Numa ecosystem combines a wearable device and a digital platform.
Numa features an imaging device for objective organ evaluation and a collaborative platform to support surgeons between provisional acceptance and transplantation.
How it works together
Our solution features an imaging device for objective organ evaluation and a collaborative platform to support surgeons between provisional acceptance and transplantation.
Breakdown of digital platform
Home:
Reviewing the current process at a glance
An at-a-glance screen where OPOs can quickly check all entries and monitor the progress of each case in the organ procurement process.
This section provides a high-level overview of the status, helping OPOs stay on top of their tasks.
Messages:
Simplifying the stakeholder communication
A dynamic chat section that enables OPOs to connect with key stakeholders at the right time.
Requests are automatically converted into entries, notifying Transplant Centers when tasks begin and when they are completed, streamlining communication and collaboration throughout the process.
Gallery:
Keep the real time tracking going when organs are being assessed.
A shared space where both OPOs and transplant centers can exchange high-quality images using the Numa lens, powered by Hyperspectral imaging technology.
This feature allows for better identification of crucial information, ensuring that all parties involved can collaborate effectively to assess and accept the organ offer.
IMPACT
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Labs validated our concept.
Devin, from UNOS, positioned our solution as a decision-aid tool, emphasizing its role in bridging the gap between provisional acceptance and the final organ transplant.
To validate the product, we met with UNOS Labs, whose feedback offered invaluable insights. Their perspective highlighted considerations we hadn’t initially accounted for, leading to thoughtful refinements in both the design and information architecture.
Multiple collaboration sessions with UNOS Labs played a critical role in validating the solution, finalizing design, and aligning it with both stakeholders' needs and organizational goals. At the end, I handed off the mobile prototype design files to OPOs to keep validate our deliverables and our team will be picthing Numa to UNOs.
REFLECTION
Challenges identified
Developing a unified organ procurement platform is complex due to the fragmented nature of the healthcare ecosystem.
Areas for improvement
Future focus should include enhanced AI prioritization, clearer phase definitions, improved accessibility (meeting AAA standards and accommodating color blindness).
What's next?
Collaborating with healthcare partners to explore pathways for EHR integration and improved data flow across systems.
