Audience:
All lung transplant programs
Please share this notice with anyone in your organization who needs to know this information.
WaitlistSM now requires lung transplant programs to provide applicable data when they remove a lung candidate who has been supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The data will be used to ensure that these candidates receive a lung allocation score (LAS) that reflects the severity of their condition, and to ensure that ECMO is appropriately included in future versions of the LAS calculation.
The OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors approved this action in June 2015. This is only an update to data reporting and does not involve a specific policy change.
What data are we now collecting?
The new data requirement applies to both adult and pediatric lung transplant candidates. It does not apply to heart/lung candidates, as this information is already separately collected. To simplify the reporting requirements, the new data fields are similar to those currently used to report use of a mechanical circulatory support device when a heart or heart-lung candidate is removed from the waiting list.
When removing a candidate from the waiting list, the system will ask you whether the candidate had extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or invasive mechanical ventilation to treat respiratory failure since the date of candidate registration. If the answer is “No,” you will not have to provide additional detail.
If the candidate had received ventilatory support while listed, you must enter additional fields including:
- The ventilatory support device type (Veno-arterial ECMO, Veno-venous ECMO, or invasive mechanical ventilation)
- Details regarding the site of cannulation for ECMO, date the treatment was initiated, date the treatment was discontinued (if applicable), and the candidate’s ambulatory status
- Whether the support was in place at the time of removal from the waiting list
All ventilatory support data captured at the time of candidate removal will also be displayed on the Removal History page.
Additional Resources
Online help documentation will be available once the change is implemented. To navigate to this information, access Waitlist. On the Help menu, select Online Help. You may search for the specific topic or use the table of contents.
Questions?
If you have additional questions relating to policy, contact your UNOS Regional Administrator at 804-782-4800.
If you have questions relating to the system, contact UNOS Customer Service (UNet Help Desk) at 800-978-4334.
