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Black kidney candidates are receiving waiting time modifications, helping them get the organs they need

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Six months after new kidney policies took effect, more than 6,100 Black kidney candidates have had their waiting times modified, helping them get the organs they need. A new monitoring report shows the median (statistical midpoint) of additional waiting time given to these candidates was 1.7 years. The attached figure below shows the distribution of waiting time awarded to candidates with a waiting time modification. Read the full article from UNOS.

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Lung transplant rates continue to increase six months post implementation of new lung policy

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Dec 4, 2023 | Heart/lung, News, Policy monitoring reports

A new data monitoring report evaluates key metrics six months after the implementation of the current lung allocation system that went into effect March 9, 2023.

Lung is the first organ type to adopt the flexible and patient-centric system known as continuous distribution. Under the current system, each lung candidate is assigned a single and unique score for each match run that combines multiple factors to determine priority. Read the full article from UNOS.

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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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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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Vote calls for a work group to consider whether organs transported via commercial flight could once again travel safely in a plane’s cabin

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The U.S. House of Representatives has approved, as part of its 2023 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, a provision aimed at enhancing efficiencies of the transportation of donor organs through the nation’s commercial aviation system.

Section 834 of H.R. 3934, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, requires the Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT), in consultation with the FAA Administrator, to convene a working group to develop best practices for the transportation of an organ in the cabin of an aircraft.
Read the complete press release from UNOS.

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New policy aims to speed kidney acceptance rates, increase transplants

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July 19, 2023, Richmond, VA

The OPTN Board of Directors unanimously approved a new policy that will help more patients receive a lifesaving kidney transplant by getting the right organ to the right patient faster.

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the non-profit organization that contracts with the federal government to serve as the nation’s Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Read the complete press release from UNOS.

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OPTN Board approves measures to improve kidney offer acceptance process

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Richmond, Va., – The Board of Directors of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, at its meeting June 26, unanimously approved measures intended to improve the process kidney transplant programs use to consider available organ offers. By making better usage of offer filters, kidney offers may be made more efficiently to programs that are most likely to accept such offers for their candidates.

“Every transplant program is responsible for deciding which characteristics of donor organs are acceptable for their transplant candidates,” said Jerry McCauley, M.D., M.P.H., president of the board. Read the full article from UNOS here.

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Safety net policies for kidney-after-heart and kidney-after-lung allocation in effect June 29

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Effective June 29, 2023, new safety net policies will be implemented for kidney-after-heart and kidney-after-lung allocation. The new policies are similar to the safety net provision already in effect for kidney-after-liver allocation.

Safety net priority classification will be available for qualifying heart, lung, or heart-lung recipients who are listed for a kidney transplant within 365 days of their thoracic transplant. 
Read more from UNOS.

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Actions to strengthen the U.S. organ donation and transplant system

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Driving system-wide improvement to better serve patients

April 6, 2023
More than 42,800 organ transplants were performed in the U.S. in 2022, an increase of nearly 1,500 over the previous year. The system’s success reflects its commitment to continuous improvement, which has driven 10 consecutive years of increases in the number of deceased-donor transplants performed. Thanks to the efforts of the national transplant network, 23 percent more deceased-donor transplants are performed today than five years ago. Read the full article from UNOS.

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