Transportation: Reduce risk of delay, damage or loss in organ transport

Addressing concerns about organ tracking and transportation requires a system‐wide, multi‐pronged approach. UNOS has taken action as a private entity in developing and launching its own organ tracking solution, currently in use by 16 OPOs.¹ However, both the federal government and the OPTN must require, develop and enact a solution for national, system‐wide tracking and efficient air transit.

UNOS Action

Due to federal protocol changes following the September 11 attacks, unaccompanied organs were relegated to cargo and are still transported that way today. Cargo procedures are time-insensitive and can cause logistical problems, such as delays, when transporting time-sensitive organs intended for transplant.

UNOS supports the House (Section 834) and Senate (Section 737) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation, which each include an organ transportation provision. We join more than 20 industry organizations in urging Congress that any final FAA reauthorization legislation include a provision that requires federal rulemaking to enable the transportation of a donated organ in the passenger cabin instead of in the cargo hold of a commercial airplane. UNOS will continue to work with Congress to include this transportation provision in the legislation and get it signed into law.

Additionally, UNOS is advocating for HRSA to include the following in the next OPTN contract:

• Mandate physical trackers for unaccompanied deceased donor organs.
• Develop a centralized organ tracking system.
• Publicly report on data related to tracking.
• Review all cases of a lost organ.