Dale Gardiner

National Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, NHSBT

Dr Dale Gardiner is a Consultant in Adult Intensive Care Medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Associate Medical Director – Deceased Organ Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant.

His professional interests are medical ethics, the diagnosis of death and deceased organ donation.

Dale is a Board Member of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and Chair of the Professional Affairs and Safety Committee. He is co-chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges task and finish group to update the 2008 Code of Practice for the Diagnosis and Confirmation of Death.

Originally, Dale came from Australia but migrated to the UK in 2002.

: @dalecgardiner

Dr Ben Ivory

Consultant Intensivist and Anaesthetist, NHSBT

Ben is a consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia at Torbay Hospital, South Devon.  He has been the national education lead for organ donation with NHS Blood and Transplant for the last 7 years, delivering, alongside the education team, the acclaimed national Deceased Donation Simulation Course.  The team won the inaugural ICS education award in 2020 and deliver education around donation, ethical decision making and end of life conversations to national and international audiences.  In his spare time he enjoys landscape photography and slow running.

: @bennoivory

Jill Featherstone

NHS Blood and Transplant National Professional Development Specialist Nurse OTDT– Medical Education Lead , NHSBT

I joined NHSBT’s Professional Development Team following time as a Specialist Nurse Organ Donation with the Northern Region at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. This was following a long career in critical care with a wide range of experience alongside leadership experience both within critical care and in the volunteer and charity business sector.  

I work collaboratively with national and regional medical leads to develop and deliver MPT training opportunities for those working with NHSBT, in the service of patients and families experiencing donation. Our work extends internationally and includes the highly regarded and award winning National Deceased Donation Course. This particular course provides donation education to both adult and paediatric trainees due to become our next generation of consultants. Other courses include induction programmes for CLODs and Trust/Health board Organ Donation Committee Chairs, foundational to effective donation service leadership as well as conference opportunities to achieve a wider audience reach.

Our aim is to build confidence and excellence in donation practice, train in multidisciplinary ways and remain world class by providing a high level of engagement, interest and academic rigour whilst complementing specialist nurse training for a cohesive approach.

I am passionate about the family end of life experience, teamwork, simulation, service improvement and innovation using a wide variety of forums to have the greatest impact and reach as possible.

: @JillFeatherston

Tom Billyard

Consultant intensivist and clinical lead for critical care, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Tom is a consultant intensivist and clinical lead for critical care at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. His clinical interests lie mostly in the area of organ donation; Tom is part of the clinical leadership team for organ donation at NHS Blood and Transplant. 

Jo Cox

Professional Development Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation, NHS Blood and Transplant

I joined NHS Blood and Transplant in 2015, following several years as a critical care nurse across a range of specialities. I worked as a Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation (SNOD) for six years before moving into the practice development team, where I focused on the training, support and professional development of specialist nurses.

I am currently on secondment, leading work on consent and authorisation in organ donation. I recently completed a Master’s  in Death, Religion and Culture.