Webinars, other educational resources available
A series of improvements to MELD, PELD, Status 1A and Status 1B will be implemented on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
As of June 15, new and updated data fields are now available to prepare for implementation. Liver transplant programs may enter or edit values to support the new calculations. Data reporting for these fields is not required until the July implementation, but advance data entry will ease the transition to the new policy. The program may need to update lab tests or get additional information from the transplant candidate to ensure it has the most current and complete information.
Liver transplant programs may access the Liver Calculated MELD or PELD Score Report in the UNetSM Data Services Portal. This shows what the projected new score will be for each current candidate. This may help programs identify candidates with missing data prior to implementation, as well as those whose recertification schedule may be affected by the new score.
Until July 13, the MELD and PELD sample calculators on the OPTN website show, in separate tabs, scores generated by the current calculation as well as by the updated calculation that will be in place as of implementation. You may compare the two calculations to see the effect the new policy may have on an individual’s MELD or PELD score.
Updated and new data fields
- For all current transplant candidates of any organ type, as of June 15, the data field currently titled “gender” in all TIEDI® forms is titled “birth sex.” This is an automatic update of the field title and does not affect the data currently entered for any candidate.
- A new field, “Sex for Purposes of Adult MELD Calculation,” is now available for all adult liver candidates (age 18 or older at the time of registration). This field is required for all adult candidates newly registered on or after June 15, 2023. The field will be optional and may be edited for adult candidates already on the OPTN Waiting List, if the candidate’s “Sex for Purposes of Adult MELD Calculation” is different than their birth sex.
- As of July 13, an albumin value will be required for all MELD candidates. (This is already a data requirement for PELD candidates.)
- As of July 13, a creatinine value will be required for all PELD candidates. (This is already a data requirement for candidates age 10 or older.)
Note: While there will be some updates to classification of pediatric candidates in Status 1A or Status 1B, these changes do not require new or updated data entry.
Webinars; additional informational and educational resources
The OPTN Liver and Intestinal Organ Transplantation Committee and Pediatric Transplantation Committee have held three informational webinars, two for transplant programs and one for transplant candidates and their caregivers. Recordings of the three webinars will be available here. (Note: recordings of the first two webinars are available now; the third webinar, held June 28, will be posted soon.) The titles are as follows:
- Preparing for MELD 3.0 and PELD Creatinine: Phase 1
- Preparing for MELD 3.0 and PELD Creatinine: Phase 2
- Patient and Family Webinar: Updates to Liver Allocation Policy
An educational course is also available on UNOS Connect, the OPTN’s learning management system. The course number and title are:
- LIV114: Preparing for MELD 3.0 and PELD CR
In addition, a new section of the the Liver and Intestine professional resources page on the OPTN website houses resource information including frequently asked question (FAQ) documents and a guide to the MELD and PELD calculations.
