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How you can help shape the future of organ donation and transplant

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A message from Dianne LaPointe Rudow, President, UNOS Board of Directors

By Dianne LaPointe Rudow, ANP-BC, DNP, FAAN, President, UNOS Board of Directors

What’s going on

I’m a nurse practitioner by training, and I’ve spent countless hours with patients—both those waiting for a transplant and those who’ve just received one. I’ve seen firsthand the highs and lows, both physical and mental, that patients, living donors, loved ones, and family members of generous deceased donors go through, and one thing remains clear: Patients like you are at the center of the U.S. organ donation and transplant system, and it is up to us in the transplant community to engage with you and learn more from your experiences. Read the complete article from UNOS here.

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Study Reveals Kidney Waitlisting Disparities, Inequitable Access to Transplantation

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By Abigail Brooks, MA

Among a cohort of young patients with no major comorbidity burdens, 49% were not waitlisted within 5 years of dialysis initiation.

Findings from a retrospective cohort study are calling attention to disparities in kidney transplant waitlisting based on sex, race, ethnicity, and employment status.

Among more than 50,000 patients aged ≤40 years with no major medical comorbidities, nearly half were not waitlisted for a kidney transplant within 5 years of dialysis initiation, with female sex, Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and unemployment showing the greatest association with decreased waitlisting.1 Read more in HCP Live.

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Kidney Transplant Waitlisting Disparities Affect Even Younger, Healthier Patients

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By Natash Persaud

Waitlist disparities even extend to younger patients with no medical contraindications to kidney transplantation who are normally considered prime candidates, a new study finds.

In the retrospective study of 52,902 US patients aged 40 years or younger with no major medical comorbidities, only 30% were waitlisted for a kidney transplant within 1 year of dialysis initiation, and 51% were waitlisted within 5 years. Read the full article in Renal & Urology News.

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Finding an organ transplant center that’s right for you

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Written By UChicago Medicine organ transplant team

The University of Chicago Medicine organ transplant program has experts in heart, kidney, liver, lung, multi-organ, and pancreas and islet transplantations. We know choosing the right transplant center can be a challenge and want our patients to feel comfort and confidence that the center they choose will meet their specific needs. Below, our organ transplant team answers questions many prospective patients face on their journey to finding the best place for a transplant, including information specific to UChicago Medicine.
Read more here.

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Biden signs Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement Transplantation Network Act into law

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By Shawn M. Carter

President Joe Biden signed the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement Transplantation Network Act into law, according to a statement from the National Kidney Foundation.

“Make no mistake, reforms to the governance of the [Organ Procurement Transplantation Network (OPTN)] will save lives, strengthen accountability and increase transparency,” Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, said in a statement.
Read the full article in Healio.

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GUEST OPINION: Eliminate kidney transplant waitlist

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By William E. Lombard

The Pacific Northwest region has a history of innovation in kidney research and dialysis with a legacy of mission-driven care to individuals with chronic kidney failure. Access to dialysis is essential to high-quality treatment for people with end-stage renal disease. But the best treatment option for many patients is a kidney transplant from a living donor.

Dialysis patients are inherently vulnerable. Chronic kidney failure (CKF) was once a fatal disease, in every single case. Read the full article in the Lynden Tribune.

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Certain CF children at greater risk of removal from transplant waitlist

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Poor functional status while on waitlist is linked to worse outcomes, study finds

By Steve Bryson, PhD

Children and adolescents who are wait-listed for lung transplantation and have the worst functional status are at the greatest risk of being removed from the waitlist due to clinical deterioration or death, a study reports.

The risk is highest for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and for adolescents compared with younger children, data indicate.
Read the full story in Cystic Fibrosis News Today.

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Research in focus: examining organ offers

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Three studies examine offer acceptance practices and the impact of the Offer Filters tool

Beginning in 2017, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) policies have been modified to eliminate Donor Service Area (DSA or the area served by a specific Organ Procurement Organization) from allocation policies for all organs. While monitoring reports indicate that these policy changes are achieving the goal of getting the most medically urgent patients transplanted sooner, another result is that, on average, transplant centers have experienced an increase in the number of offers received.

Two recent studies from UNOS researchers analyzed offer acceptance practices, while a third looked at the impact of the Offer Filters tool on transplant program offer volume and overall kidney non-use rates. Read the entire article from UNOS.

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Racial gaps persist in kidney transplantation, particularly among younger patients

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By Shawn M. Carter

Evident racial gaps in transplant waitlist placement between Black and white patients exist, particularly among younger individuals with kidney failure, new data suggests.

“Racial disparities exist at all steps of the kidney transplant process, including waitlisting,” Jade Buford, MPH, of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and lead researcher, told Healio.
Read the full story in Healio.

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Transplant Centers Often Skip High-Priority Candidates for Kidney Placement

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By Natasha Persaud

Transplant centers with discretion over kidney placement often skip candidates with the highest priority on the kidney transplant waiting list in favor of lower-ranked candidates, a new study finds.

“This introduces a subjective element into an otherwise objective allocation system with potential negative consequences for skipped candidates,” according to Sumit Mohan, MD, MPH, of Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center in New York, New York, and colleagues. Read the full article in Renal & Urology News.

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