Advocating for actions to strengthen the U.S. organ donation and transplant system
About UNOS
UNOS 2025 policy priorities
Bills we are supporting this Congress
UNOS positions and fact sheets
UNOS leverages its decades of experience and expertise serving the U.S. donation and transplant system to advocate for patient-centric reforms that will provide lasting and lifesaving impacts. Read about our roadmap to a better system.
UNOS is embracing the modernization of the U.S. system and is calling on Congress to adopt long-overdue reforms that could dramatically reduce the number of patients who die waiting for an organ transplant.
UNOS 2025 policy priorities
National use of automated donor referral
Above-wing organ transportation
A national organ tracking system
Medicare changes to increase organ usage
UNOS positions and fact sheets
UNOS positions on legislation
2024
- UNOS letter to Congress
- Stakeholder letter supporting the Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act (31 Oct. 2024)
- Stakeholder Letter Thanking U.S. House and Senate Transportation Committees (20 June, 2024)
- Organ Transportation Working Group Stakeholder Letter (20 June, 2024)
- FY2025 OPTN Funding Stakeholder Letter (26 Apr. 2024)
- Community Letter Supporting the Honor Our Living Donors Act (23 Feb. 2024)
- UNOS Letter of Support for Living Organ Donor Tax Credit Act (23 Feb. 2024)
- UNOS Supports Virginia Medicaid Coverage for Adult Pancreas Transplantation (House / Senate) (13 Feb. 2024)
- Organ transportation FAA sign-on letter (18 Jan. 2024)
2023
- Saving Organs One Flight at a Time Act, Stakeholder Sign-on Letter (30 Oct. 2023)
- UNOS letter supporting the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act (29 Aug. 2023)
- UNOS position on the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act (30 June 2023)
- Stakeholder letter supporting organ transport provision in FAA reauthorization (19 June 2023)
- UNOS supports the Living Donor Protection Act (15 May 2023)
2022
2021
UNOS positions on regulations
2024
- UNOS comment on CMMI IOTA proposed model (15 July, 2024)
2023
- UNOS comments on HHS discrimination proposed rule (16 Oct. 2023)
2022
2021
- UNOS, AST and ASTS notice to FDA on organ preservation solution shortage (16 Dec. 2021)
- UNOS comments on CMS-1752-P FY22 IPPS rule for acute care hospitals (27 June 2021)
- OPTN response to Transplant Procedures with Live Donors and Related Care Services, Department of Veterans Affairs (21 May 2021)
- UNOS, AST and ASTS joint response to CMS Medicare and Medicaid Programs; OPO conditions for participation (4 March 2021)
- OPTN response to CMS-3380 Medicare and Medicaid Programs; OPO conditions for participation (1 March 2021)
Other positions and fact sheets
2024
- UNOS Supports Organ Donation Education (23 Feb. 2024)
2023
- Understanding the drug overdose epidemic’s effect on organ donation (9 Nov. 2023)
- Saving more lives through increased organ usage (Aug. 2023)
- UNOS Statement for the Record Senate Finance Health Subcommittee Hearing (20 July 2023)
- Updated statement concerning Buckeye Transplant Services (20 July 2023)
- UNOS statement on the 2023 OPO Public Performance Report by CMS (28 April 2023)
- UNOS statement supporting improvements to the national system (22 March 2023)
- Follow-up letter to the Department of Transportation regarding organ transport on commercial flights (17 March 2023)
- Actions to strengthen the U.S. organ donation and transplant system (30 Jan. 2023) View PDF or web version
- UNOS leadership sends letter to HRSA Administrator seeking to advance plan for governance restructuring (10 Jan. 2023)
- UNOS leadership seeks meeting with U.S. Digital Service and formal review (4 Jan. 2023)
2022
- UNOS leadership seeks better air transportation for lifesaving organs (8 Dec. 2022)
- UNOS CEO shares vision for pivotal moment in the organ donation and transplant community (5 Dec. 2022)
- UNOS Board of Directors statement on the national examination of the organ donation and transplant system (1 Sept. 2022)
- UNOS statement on Senate Finance Committee Hearing (4 Aug. 2022)
- UNOS CEO Brian Shepard’s testimony to the Senate Finance Committee (3 Aug. 2022)
- Letter to HRSA Administrator from UNOS Board President Dr. Jerry McCauley (2 Aug. 2022)
- UNOS Board of Directors statement on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade (8 July 2022)
- The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and American Society of Nephrology (ASN) thank OPTN for eliminating use of race-based calculations of kidney function in transplant (23 June 2022)
- UNOS letter to Chairman Krishnamoorthi on House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee’s OPO investigation report (28 April 2022)
- OPTN letter to National Academies’ Committee on Organ Donation and Transplant System (27 April 2022)
2021
- Liver transplants up 5% in 18 month report (20 Dec. 2021)
- U.S. surpasses 40,000 transplants in a year milestone (20 Dec. 2021)
- Kidney transplants up 22% (1 Nov. 2021)
- UNOS statement regarding COVID-19 vaccine and transplantation (6 Oct. 2021)
Press releases
UNOS adds two members to its board of directors
Melina Davis and Mark Johnson join UNOS’ current seven-member board
U.S. surpassed 48,000 organ transplants in 2024
UNOS advocates for reforms to strengthen the system
Leslie and Bill Carruth awarded annual Lisa Schaffner Community Advocate Award
Donor parents recognized for promoting organ, eye and tissue donation
News
Understanding Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD)
Understanding Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) by Andrew Klein, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, UNOS.
Organ donor hospitals and transplant hospitals –how do they differ?
Donor hospitals are not subject to OPTN policies but transplant hospitals are. So who’s responsible for overseeing donor hospitals?
How UNOS uses data to help transplant programs improve
UNOS uses the same process for data requests from the OPTN as any other entity and can provide aggregated, limited or patient-level information about a variety of subjects due to our deep knowledge and understanding based on decades of experience.