Angel Capital Assoc. honors BMI OrganBank with 2026 Luis Villalobos Award

The Angel Capital Association (ACA), the world’s largest association of angel investors, has honored Winston-Salem-based BMI OrganBank with its 2026 Luis Villalobos Awards in the life sciences category.

The award was announced at this year’s Summit of Angel Investing. The award recognizes the most innovative companies recently backed by ACA member groups. 

The second winner was Kind Designs, in the Technology category. Both companies were nominated by Golden Seeds, an angel investor.

BMI OrganBank in September 2025 received a Breakthrough Device designation from the FDA for its kidney preservation device, which aims to significantly increase the utilization of donated kidneys. This new technology could greatly reduce the kidney waitlist, which currently stands at almost 100,000 in the U.S., with an average wait time of 3 to 5 years.

BMI OrganBank has deep roots in the state's life sciences ecosystem. The company has received critical support from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in the form of two $250,000 Small Business Research Loans.

The first NCBiotech loan, awarded in 2020, supported studies that generated the data needed to secure a $3.7 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health, advancing development of the kidney preservation technology. The second loan in 2023 supported the design of the final device and activities necessary for FDA approval.