CMC receives organ donations through LifeShare of the Carolinas, the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) for the Charlotte region. Partnering with Carolinas Medical Center to provide deceased donor organs to patients awaiting transplantation, LifeShare is a member of the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN). The organization also works closely with the United Network for Organ Sharing, which maintains the national computerized waiting list for potential transplant recipients and matches all deceased donors to the appropriate recipient.

Following the collaborative best practice model, the transplant surgeon, surgical critical care physician and LifeShare's recovery coordinator aggressively manage the deceased donors, resulting in a decrease in cold ischemic time, an increase in organ quality and an increase in the number of organs recovered per donor. Due to the increase in the number of organs, waiting time is shorter at Carolinas Medical Center than the national average for each of the organ specific programs.