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UNOS responds to Congressional hearing
UNOS statement following July 22 congressional hearing.
UNOS CEO Maureen McBride responds to July 20 New York Times article
UNOS CEO Maureen McBride responds to new article by New York Times.
UNOS adds two members to its board of directors
Melina Davis and Mark Johnson join UNOS’ current seven-member board
UNOS advances plan to restructure transplant network governance to best serve patients
To increase autonomy and transparency to better serve the nation’s transplant patients, UNOS recommends a restructure of respective boards of directors and to establish the OPTN as an independent non-profit entity.
Change addressing disparity for black kidney patients takes effect
New policy allows for waiting time adjustments for those disadvantaged by the use of race-based measures of kidney health.
UNOS leadership requests USDS engagement concerning leaked report and impact on patients
Leaders in organ donation and transplantation seek meeting and assessment with U.S. Digital Service concerning IT systems that make over 41,000 transplants possible per year.
UNOS seeks better air transportation for lifesaving organs
Board Presidents and Interim CEO request meeting with DOT, HRSA, FAA and TSA to find paths for improvement.
UNOS CEO calls for expanded improvements in the organ donation and transplant field
Nonprofit leader acknowledges public concerns and seeks stakeholder collaboration during pivotal moment for the U.S. donation and transplantation community.
Kidney – Pancreas
New kidney biopsy fields coming to DonorNet and TIEDI
These new fields aim to reduce inconsistencies in both the reporting of kidney biopsy results as well as the specific biopsy parameters reported.
New candidate inactivation code available for multi-organ transplant candidates
The new code (“Candidate requires multi-organ TX only, isolated offers not accepted”) will exclude the candidate from receiving offers of the specified individual organ type(s).
Webinar to address kidney-after-thoracic safety net, combined kidney-thoracic allocation
The webinar will be recorded and made available for later viewing.
Liver – Intestine
New candidate inactivation code available for multi-organ transplant candidates
The new code (“Candidate requires multi-organ TX only, isolated offers not accepted”) will exclude the candidate from receiving offers of the specified individual organ type(s).
Updated liver allocation policy regarding HCC criteria in effect
Policy terminology updated for consistency with imaging standards
Improvements to MELD and PELD now in effect
Resources and education available for patients and clinicians
Heart – Lung
Early lung monitoring report shows increase in transplants following implementation of lung continuous distribution
Report captures three-months of data post implementation of lung continuous distribution.
Now in effect: Simultaneous heart-kidney and lung-kidney allocation changes
New policies require candidates to meet medical eligibility criteria to be eligible for a required kidney share on the heart or lung match.
FAQ: New multi-organ polices in effect
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Ad-hoc Multi Organ Transplantation Committee has implemented several safety net policies to ensure patients in need of multiple organ transplants to get priority when they become medically eligible.
VCA
VCA coming to UNet Spring 2023
Audience VCA programs All UNetSM users (for awareness) Implementation date Spring 2023 At-a-glance Allocation of all Vascularized Composite Allograft (VCA) organs will be moving into UNet starting in the Spring of 2023. Additional details There is no action needed...
Updates to living donor exclusion criteria now in effect
Four exclusion criteria in OPTN Policy 14.4.E have been updated to align with current research and guidelines as well as ensure consistency throughout OPTN policy language.
Education now available: Updates to living donor exclusion criteria
Professional education on this policy change is now available in UNOS Connect. These policy changes take effect July 26.
Improving the system together
Next steps for the first national donor image sharing hub
Phase 1 of the UNOS imaging study pilot concluded successfully in April. Key findings will form the blueprint for future planning.
Achieving a shorter, more active kidney waitlist
Reviewing and reclassifying the kidney waitlist at University of Chicago Medical Center results in a 17 percent increase in transplants.
Study finds effective outcomes for A2 to B transplants
Vanderbilt University Medical Center reports effective outcomes for A2 to B transplants in UNOS kidney allocation system
UNet
Offer Filters now available for lung allocation
Offer Filters adds data-driven, multi-criteria filters to organ offers at a program level so lung transplant programs can filter offers they will not accept and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) can find an accepting candidate more quickly.
Coming soon: Contact management enhancements
The organ offer contact management utility within DonorNet® will be updated to have a clearer and more concise list of contact device options.
Coming soon: Offer Filters for lung allocation
The Offer Filters tool will become available for lung transplant programs in UNetSM on Jan. 31.
“… policy is the living, breathing expression of group values.”
Martha Pavlakis, M.D.
Policy changes
Three new VCA programs to replace GU program
Three new programs will replace the Vascularized Composite Allograft (VCA) – genitourinary organ (GU) program
National webinar on Nov.15 for lung transplant professionals on upcoming data collection changes and other insights in lung allocation
A recording will be made available afterward.
Patient information letter updated, now available in additional languages
Updated patient information letter now available in multiple languages.
Policy monitoring
Two-year monitoring report summarizes National Liver Review Board activity
Report covers activity since the implementation of the acuity circles liver allocation policy.
One-year monitoring report shows increases in kidney transplants for Black, Hispanic, Asian and pediatric patients following policy changes
One-year monitoring report shows increases in kidney transplants for Black, Hispanic, Asian and pediatric patients following policy changes.
Learn: Collaborative improvement and educational resources
IN FOCUS
More than 15,000 liver transplants performed in first two years of acuity circles policy
Two-year monitoring shows many states had volume changes within 10 percent of previous policy.
Collaboration
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Education
Latest in reporting positive post procurement donor results
A new permission in Security Administration was added today for transplant programs. Starting Feb. 28, Transplant Programs will be able to view and acknowledge receipt of these notifications from a new dashboard in DonorNet. The dashboard will be visible only to hospital users who have this new permission to acknowledge these notifications.
National webinar on Nov.15 for lung transplant professionals on upcoming data collection changes and other insights in lung allocation
A recording will be made available afterward.
Effective practices
Learn about collaborative improvement projects
Learn about issues impacting patients, donors, donor families, and the national system. Issues and advocacy
Patient safety
Monkeypox summary of evidence report available
The document addresses potential risks and strategies to prevent donor-derived transmission.
Now in effect: New identity verification process when calling UNOS Customer Service & Organ Center
Effective Sept. 1, any caller who requests access to private information or UNet services from UNOS will use a new identity verification process that utilizes Authy.
Monkeypox and solid organ donation
The OPTN Ad Hoc Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC) is evaluating this situation as it develops.
Transplant hospital
Patient information letter updated, now available in additional languages
Updated patient information letter now available in multiple languages.
Now in effect: Simultaneous heart-kidney and lung-kidney allocation changes
New policies require candidates to meet medical eligibility criteria to be eligible for a required kidney share on the heart or lung match.
Now in effect: Changes to liver-kidney nautical mile threshold
The required share threshold for simultaneous liver-kidney (SLK) allocation has expanded from 250 nautical miles to 500 nautical miles for eligible adult candidates (e.g., Status 1A or MELD of 29 or greater).
OPO
Coming soon: changes to liver-kidney nautical mile threshold
The simultaneous liver-kidney (SLK) allocation required share will change from 250 nautical miles to 500 nautical miles for eligible adult candidates.
UNOS researchers present studies at 2023 American Transplant Congress
Twenty-two UNOS staff members presented research from 42 studies at the 2023 American Transplant Congress, addressing topics including social determinants of health, offer-acceptance practices, and the impacts of allocation-policy changes.
Now in effect: Changes to security personnel requirements and reporting
These changes were approved by the OPTN Board of Directors at their June 26, 2023 meeting.
Histocompatibility
Changes to HLA and unacceptable antigen options coming Aug. 30
Updates to HLA typing and unacceptable antigen reporting options and equivalencies will go into effect Aug. 30.
Policy change impacting KPD eligibility coming Aug. 30
Changes to HLA and unacceptable antigen options will go into effect Aug. 30, as well as changes to the equivalences used for HLA matching and screening of unacceptable antigens between candidates and donors.
Waitlist enhancements and new kidney features coming
On Sept. 27, UNOS will launch the first in a series of enhancements to the visual design and workflows in Waitlist.