On February 19, 2015, OPTN/UNOS Board-approved revisions to the Lung Allocation Score (LAS) system were implemented. The LAS system prioritizes candidates who are at least 12 years of age for allocation of deceased donor lung offers based on the candidates’ LAS. The OPTN/UNOS Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee’s goals in revising the LAS system are to improve the system’s ability to address the disease severity of candidates waiting for lung transplants by modifying covariates in the system’s statistical models; and update the baseline survival rates and coefficients to reflect the current waiting list population. Members can request an exception from the Lung Review Board for diagnoses not listed in UNetSM for candidates less than 11 years, 9 months old.
A webinar was held on January 20 to brief transplant professionals on policy changes to the new LAS system.
