Please note that this infor­ma­tion is intend­ed for med­ical exam­in­ers and inves­ti­ga­tors. If your reached this page by mis­take, please return to our home­page.

The Role of MEs and MEIs in Donation

Med­ical exam­in­ers and inves­ti­ga­tors play a cru­cial role in the dona­tion process. It is esti­mat­ed that as many as 70% of poten­tial donors, fall under med­ical exam­in­er juris­dic­tion. As a med­ical exam­in­er or inves­ti­ga­tor, you can have a direct impact on dona­tion by refer­ring all deaths that occur out­side of a hos­pi­tal to Iowa Donor Net­work. In doing so, you ensure that all Iowans are giv­en the oppor­tu­ni­ty to leave a liv­ing lega­cy through tis­sue and eye donation. 

Iowa Donor Net­work is com­mit­ted to col­lab­o­rat­ing with you to ensure that all require­ments for a medicole­gal inves­ti­ga­tion are met while hon­or­ing the dona­tion deci­sions of indi­vid­u­als and their fam­i­lies. Iowa Donor Net­work will work direct­ly with your agency to devel­op pro­ce­dures to ensure that your needs are met while still pre­serv­ing the oppor­tu­ni­ty for dona­tion. Please review the resources and ref­er­ences in this sec­tion and con­tact a mem­ber of our Hos­pi­tal and Part­ner Rela­tion team for fur­ther infor­ma­tion or education.


To learn more about the impact of dona­tion, please vis­it our Under­stand­ing Dona­tion page.

First Call Referral


At Iowa Donor Net­work, we are com­mit­ted to mak­ing the organ and tis­sue dona­tion process as seam­less as pos­si­ble. Our new refer­ral ser­vice pro­vides med­ical exam­in­ers with a quick and effi­cient way to refer poten­tial donors, ensur­ing that every oppor­tu­ni­ty to save and heal lives is max­i­mized. Togeth­er, we can hon­or the wish­es of donors and bring hope to those in need.

Additional Resources


Click to view and down­load resources avail­able in our MEI Toolkit.

Our Vision:

All are inspired to donate life.