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Our mission is to unite and strengthen the donation and transplant community to save lives.
How we work together
INNOVATION
Ideas in action
Building a new, more flexible system for organ allocation
How UNOS is using multi-criteria decision-making methodologies to build the continuous distribution framework, a more fair and flexible system for organ allocation
Improving DonorNet Mobile together
The new mobile-friendly website was developed in partnership with transplant coordinators, administrators and surgeons from across the country.
Innovating to strengthen the organ transplant system
UNOS Labs tries out new ideas in behavioral research, data science and technology. Our researchers develop innovative solutions to improve the national organ network and increase organ utilization.
An Expedia for organ transplantation: Predicting travel time
A privately funded research project aims to help OPO professionals make more informed decisions about optimal travel routes for procured organs.
UNOS researchers discover a new way to predict kidney utilization rates
UNOS data science manager used natural language processing (NLP) to improve kidney utilization. Learn more about organ placement discoveries.
Reducing unwanted organ offers
A new UNOS pilot project tests ways to avoid unwanted offers, speed up organ allocation and transplant more organs.
Creating the first national donor image sharing hub
UNOS has launched a new national donor image sharing hub pilot. Learn more about what this pilot consists of and the importance of donor image sharing.
IMPROVEMENT
Driving change
What’s the best way to measure transplant program performance?
MPSC proposed changes to performance monitoring to go out for public comment in August.
Kidney committee leadership discusses increasing geographic equity in access to kidney transplant
A result of two years of public comment and policy development, the new distance-based approach prioritizes patients.
Advancing American kidney health through collaboration
OPTN Kidney Committee chair Vince Casingal, M.D., on the ongoing improvement initiatives to increase kidney utilization.
What’s behind the rise in living organ donation?
Living organ donations have been on the rise in recent years. In this feature story, we explore why.
How OPOs improve performance and increase transplants nationwide
Organ donations can be hard to get, but organ procurement organizations are educating communities to improve donation rates. Learn what they are doing here.
COIIN Results: Increasing the use of high KDPI kidneys
A three-year collaborative improvement pilot project, COIIN, explores new methods of quality monitoring. See how they increased the use of high KDPI kidneys.
INSIGHTS
Data & tools
The ethical implications of continuing living donor transplants during COVID-19
Paper offers rationale and recommendations for continuing living donor transplantation when resources are stretched
UNOS research: Insights from the American Transplant Congress
“There is so much intellectual capital assembled at UNOS to study and evaluate the transplant system and find ways to improve through research and analytics.”
Trailblazing physician broke barriers to become nation’s first Black female transplant surgeon
Dr. Velma Scantlebury-White, who has performed more than 2,000 transplants in her career, says there have been significant changes in terms of achieving equity access in the allocation system for minority patients, but some issues persist.
Will organ perfusion transform transplantation?
UNOS looks at the rapidly evolving state of organ perfusion technology and its potential to transform transplantation
KAS increases equity in access to kidney transplantation
Is KAS, the Kidney Allocation System, accomplishing the goals set out for it? Read more from UNOS about what is working and what challenges remain.