Effective June 29, 2023, transplant programs will be able to begin reporting data to support implementation of policies for simultaneous heart-kidney and lung-kidney allocation, which will take effect in September 2023. The new policies are similar to the approach already in effect for simultaneous liver-kidney allocation.
Transplant programs that wish to register a candidate for simultaneous heart-kidney (SHK) or simultaneous lung-kidney (SLuK) will need to document within WaitlistSM that the heart, lung, or heart/lung candidate meets medical eligibility criteria for either chronic kidney disease (CKD) or sustained acute kidney injury (SAKI). Programs may need to perform additional testing or get additional documentation to support the qualifying criteria. The policy notice addresses the criteria in detail.
By updating candidate listings with qualifying criteria in advance of the September implementation date, transplant programs will ensure that candidates will appear on lung and heart match runs as eligible for a required share as soon as the policy takes effect.
Safety net policies for heart-after-kidney and lung-after-kidney allocation also in effect June 29
Also on June 29, in a related but separate implementation phase, new safety net policies will be in effect for kidney-after-heart and kidney-after-lung allocation. The new policies are similar to the safety net provision already in effect for kidney-after-liver transplantation. Please refer to the separate article regarding the safety net implementation.
Education available
An educational offering is available in UNOS Connect, the OPTN’s learning management system. The course number and title are:
- ORG102, Eligibility and Safety Net Criteria for Multi-Organ Transplant
