Federal investigators have announced a series of arrests of individuals in the state of New Jersey. Among the various criminal allegations made by authorities is that an individual offered to arrange living donor transplants in the United States in return for compensation, and that this individual would instruct potential living donors to falsely portray their motivation to donate.

A court in San Luis Obispo, Calif., has considered and acquitted a San Francisco-area surgeon of a charge of medical abuse of a potential organ donor. This person did not become an organ donor, and no organs were recovered or transplanted.

UNOS honors the life and achievements of Michael DeBakey, M.D., FACS, who has passed away at the age of 99.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is saddened by the passing of Janis Kelly, UNOS Office Technology Coordinator in the IT department.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) commends the U.S. Congress for its passage of the Charlie W. Norwood Living Organ Donation Act. This act clarifies the legal basis for paired transplants of compatible living donors and recipients.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), operated by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) under contract with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, was recently notified of a single event in which a deceased donor tested falsely negative for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Four organs were recovered and transplanted from this donor. The four transplant recipients have since been determined to have contracted these viruses through the transplanted organs. We share in the public’s concern for the patients and family members affected. The respective transplant centers have assured us that each patient is being monitored and treated appropriately.

The San Luis Obispo District Attorney announced today that criminal charges have been filed against a San Francisco-area surgeon for medical abuse of a potential organ donor. Although the patient did not become an organ donor, and no organs from the patient were transplanted, this news is deeply disturbing to all who work in the field of organ donation and transplantation. Throughout this community, we share a commitment to the highest ethical and medical standards in patient care and safety for donors and recipients.

Jim joined UNOS in 1998 and was an integral part of the finance department.

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), operator of the federally contracted Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), is saddened by the June 4 plane crash involving transplant professionals from the University of Michigan.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is saddened by the passing of Mark Adams, M.D., M.S., FACS, chairman and professor of surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) commends recent efforts to establish new criteria and clarify existing processes for federal oversight of the nation's transplant system.

UNOS is saddened by the passing of U.S. Representative Charles Norwood of Georgia. Throughout his tenure in Congress, Rep. Norwood was a strong advocate for the rights of patients. His advocacy was broadened by his personal experience of receiving a single-lung transplant in 2004. He demonstrated great personal courage in continuing to serve his constituents and his country into his seventh term despite recurring cancer.

Pediatric organ donation and transplant professionals: please reserve March 28-29 on your calendar, as your expertise is needed!

Dear Colleagues, As we begin this new year, I wish to remind you of the continuing atention the OPTN and UNOS devote to issues of institutional member compliance with policies and by-laws, as well as the safety and quality of outcomes for transplant candidates, recipients and living donors.

Many of you may be aware of a lengthy article published in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times regarding oversight of the national organ procurement and transplantation network (OPTN). A condensed version of the article has been carried by the Associated Press in a number of metro newspapers this week.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) extends its sincere appreciation for the service of Tommy G. Thompson as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, particularly his tireless and effective efforts to save lives through increasing organ and tissue donation.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) wish to express sympathy for a deceased organ donor who had contracted rabies and four transplant recipients who died after receiving organs from the donor. We also share in the concern for those potentially exposed to rabies through contact with the donor or the recipients.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) expresses best wishes to basketball legend Alonzo Mourning, who received a kidney transplant on Friday, Dec. 19, and to his cousin, who served as his living kidney donor.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is saddened by the recent passing of Rhoda Blicht, M.B.A., a strong advocate for treatment of liver disease and for organ donation.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is saddened by the passing of Brian Broznick, executive director of the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) in Pittsburgh.

Recent news coverage of a prison inmate in California receiving a heart transplant has sparked interest across the country. The United Network for Organ Sharing feels that some clarification on how the nation's organ sharing system works would be helpful.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) welcomes and applauds the initiatives announced today by Tommy Thompson, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, to enhance organ and tissue donation. The activities include a workplace-based information campaign, the issuance of a model donor card, promotion of a donor medal and examination of state registries for donor status.

A persistent and totally false urban myth has gained new life and notoriety thanks to the Internet. The myth, often told from someone's "personal experience," describes a business traveler who is heavily drugged, then awakes to find he or she has had one kidney (or sometimes both) removed for a black market transplant. The setting for this scenario is often a popular tourist destination such as New Orleans or Las Vegas.