The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is committed to transparency and collaboration in all facets of its work, and particularly across the organ donation and transplant community. Recent remarks by representatives of the Health Resources and Services Administration have mischaracterized UNOS’ role, performance and commitment to coordination.
UNOS issues the following corrections and clarifications to HRSA’s false narratives:
Discovery Contractors
UNOS was not authorized or asked by HRSA to engage with its “discovery” vendors, nor did HRSA request that UNOS engage with these vendors as it explored new contractors for portions of OPTN work as part of HRSA’s Modernization Initiative.
UNOS cooperates with HRSA in alignment with UNOS’ federal contract. Absent formal authorization, UNOS will not disclose proprietary information to outside vendors. Doing so would violate patient safety and risk the system’s integrity.
UNet New User Access
Since UNOS’ previous contract expired on December 29, 2025, UNOS promptly routed all UNet access requests to HRSA as required by HRSA; any delay in adding new users stemmed from lack of guidance from HRSA that UNOS and HRSA resolved on January 8, 2026.
UNOS escalated issues in real time and worked with HRSA to establish a seamless workflow that clearly delineates UNOS’ role and HRSA’s role on January 8. UNet remains stable and secure.
OPTN Registration Fee
UNOS served as custodian of the OPTN fee under its previous federal contract and never had unrestricted control or access to those funds. Responsibility for paying the fee rests with transplant hospitals under federal rules.
Bottom line: Our Commitment
UNOS continues operating critical OPTN functions, most notably the national organ matching system and data services, and is focused on helping more patients receive lifesaving transplants.
