Archived page
Summer 2023 public comment was open July 27 – Sept. 19.
Learn more about 4 of the items that were up for comment
UNOS convenes and welcomes public debate.
Public comment is a critical forum for national discussion on organ transplant policy. When public comment has closed, OPTN volunteer committees analyze the themes and concerns voiced by the community as they review proposals and continue the policy development process.
How is policy developed?
Concept paper
Concepts for a collaborative approach to living donor data collection
Proposed concept
The paper details the concept of the OPTN requiring collection and reporting of living donor candidate and donation decision data.
This data would be shared with the SRTR Living Donor Collective to establish a foundation in which the SRTR Living Donor Collective could directly follow-up with living donor candidates and living donors long-term at a national level.
Goal
Promote living donor and transplant recipient safety
Read concept paper and provide feedback:
White paper
Ethical analysis of normothermic regional perfusion
This paper outlines the ethical principles relevant for review of the new medical transplant procedure, normothermic regional perfusion (NRP).
NRP is a new technology that has potential to increase the number of transplantable organs, but it is important to ensure that the donation procedures are transparent and ethical.
Goal
Increase the number of transplants
Read white paper and provide feedback:
Proposal
Modify organ offer acceptance limit
Proposed changes
Limit transplant programs to accepting one organ offer at time per candidate per organ type with no exceptions for higher status candidates nor DCD donors.
Goal
Increase the number of transplants
Read proposal and provide feedback:
Proposal
Require reporting of patient safety events
Proposed changes
Require members (specifically transplant hospitals and OPOs) to report certain patient safety events.
Update Patient Safety Portal form so that it lists the events that members will be required to report.
Goal
Increase the number of transplants
Read proposal and provide feedback:
What is public comment?
Public comment is a crucial part of policy development. It's a time for donor families, transplant candidates, organ recipients, donation and transplant professionals and the general public to provide feedback and engage in debate about policies that govern organ matching and allocation. To make the nation’s organ donation and transplantation system fair and equitable for all, many voices are needed and every view matters.
Please see the resources listed here to learn more about how UNOS convenes the organ donation and transplant community and the public in this twice yearly forum.
- How do we develop policy?
- Learn about our public comment discussion webinars
- What happens after public comment?
Archived public comment
Learn about some of the previous proposals
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