The Brennan family’s $1 million gift accelerates UH transplant innovation in recognition for the life-saving care Nancy Brennan received, while also highlighting her own life of service.

Northeast Ohioans know the Brennan family for its commitment to broadening healthcare access. Yet it is one thing to champion care and another to need it, as Nancy Brennan knows. Little prepares you for the discomfort and mysterious symptoms that precede a failing liver diagnosis, the dismay of a match falling through, or the worry of raising two daughters through it all. Though Nancy unfortunately experienced all of those things, she also knows the relief of getting a late‑night call to come in for surgery.

Nancy successfully underwent live transplant surgery at UH Cleveland Medical Center in August, 2010. “I will always remember my mother Ann, saying ‘Your face is pink again!’” said Nancy. It was a visible sign of a new lease on life.

In gratitude for the life-saving care Nancy received, the Brennan family recently made a $1 million gift to create the Brennan Family Transplant Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund at University Hospitals.

“We are so grateful for the Brennans’ support, which came at a time of both major innovation in the field of transplantation and increased community need for transplant procedures,” said Zoe Stewart Lewis, MD, PhD, Chief, Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery; and James A. Schulak, MD, Endowed Director, UH Transplant Institute. “Our ability to help more patients today is directly related to investment in research.”

Turning Gratitude into Second Chances

Like Nancy, nearly 12,000 patients receive transplants every year in the United States. More than 100,000 people are waiting across all organ types, and a new person joins the list every eight minutes.

Ranked the 16th best of 152 US adult liver transplant programs and 14th best of 256 kidney transplant programs by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, UH Transplant Institute is working collaboratively across disciplines to advance the field for the benefit of patients who need transplantation.

One such collaboration combines the expertise of transplant surgery with endocrinology and interventional radiology. Today, UH is one of only two U.S. sites approved to deliver Lantidra, the first FDA‑approved islet cell therapy for certain adults with type 1 diabetes. The therapy infuses donor islet cells into the liver to regulate blood sugar, offering a path to insulin independence without the risks of a full pancreas transplant.

The institute is also an early leader in normothermic machine perfusion, which keeps organs warm and functioning before transplant. Recent trials have shown how these devices improve organ quality and expand the donor pool. More effective than traditional cold storage, machine perfusion makes it possible to use organs from donors after circulatory death. 

Ann and David Brennan

For the Brennan family, supporting work like this is part of a larger commitment to service and community leadership, modeled by Ann and David Brennan. “Mom and Dad constantly taught us the importance of giving your time, talent and treasure,” said Nancy.

Deep in Nancy’s memory are days spent volunteering for the Junior League of Akron, where Ann, the first woman to chair the Akron Community Foundation, was involved.

Those experiences solidified into habit. After college, Nancy took on several nonprofit board positions. Currently, she holds roles with the Akron Art Museum, Summa Health Pride Clinic Leadership Council, and Friends of Summit FM. She serves as Board President of Akron Soul Train, which supports local artists through fellowships, exhibitions and community‑based creative work. Guided by Nancy and her siblings, the newly formed Brennan Family Foundation will focus on organizations dedicated to causes long important to the Brennan family, including education, healthcare and supporting vulnerable populations.

The Brennan family’s gift to UH is already making an impact, accelerating the science that is making Nancy’s difficult journey a smoother one for so many others in need of organ transplant.

Learn more about the UH Transplant Institute