(New York, N.Y.) February 1, 2006 – The New York Organ Donor Network, the organ procurement organization that serves the Greater New York metropolitan area, has appointed a nephrologist, Eric Grossman, M.D., F.A.C.P., as its medical director. Dr. Grossman has been an attending physician at various hospitals in the Northeast, and, most recently, he was the senior medical director and group leader for cardiovascular, metabolism and sexual health at Pfizer Inc.

The full-time position of medical director was first instituted at the Donor Network in 2004. All of the organization’s clinical and quality assurance departments will report to Dr. Grossman. Elaine Berg, president and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network, said, “Given the growing number of people needing transplants and the pressing need to dramatically raise the number of donors, we welcome Dr. Grossman’s expertise and leadership. He will play a central role in leading our clinical efforts both within our organization and externally, as we build on our solid collaborative efforts with the region’s 100 hospitals and nine transplant centers.”

Ms. Berg added, “In helping us streamline our procedures, Dr. Grossman will have overall responsibility for the medical assessment and management of donors. Most important, by leading efforts to improve the quality of our processes and procedures, we feel confident that we can increase the number of organ and tissue donors in our region and therefore save many more lives.”

In the New York metro area alone, 7,000 patients are waiting for organ transplants, and thousands more need tissues such as corneas and heart-valves. Although organ donation has trended upward from 2001 to 2004, there were only 261 organ donors in 2005. That number was one less than in the previous year, signaling a potential leveling off in the number of donors. However, the Donor Network believes a series of planned organizational changes will enable it to generate increased donors in 2006.

At Pfizer Inc. since 1997, Dr. Grossman had a diverse set of responsibilities, and several teams of physicians and researchers reported to him. Dr. Grossman had responsibility for strategic and policy initiatives. He designed and led numerous clinical trials and research studies and provided medical oversight to regulatory, educational and promotional activities. From 1989 through the present, Dr. Grossman was attending physician at hospitals, such as the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center, Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY, Bellevue Hospital, and the VA Hospital in Manhattan.

Dr. Grossman received his bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Chicago, and his medical degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. After completing his internal medicine residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Dr. Grossman completed a research and clinical fellowship in nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Additionally, Dr. Grossman has had academic appointments at Harvard Medical School, the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and NYU Medical School. He has earned many honors, and has published numerous articles.