Transplant Group Disappointed With Network Decision

The Campaign For Transplant Patient Fairness Disappointed With Transplant Network Decision

Contact: Tina Urbanski of the Campaign for Transplant Patient Fairness

202-484-2776

WASHINGTON -- The following was released today by the Campaign for Transplant Patient Fairness:

The Campaign for Transplant Patient Fairness is extremely disappointed with the decision yesterday by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to accept a proposal preserving the current system of organ distribution for patients needing liver transplants in the United States.

The UNOS board, meeting in Washington, D.C., voted to adopt new medical criteria for allocating livers to patients on the waiting list. The Mayo End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) Model uses a number of clinical and medical indicators to measure the severity of a patient's liver disease. The model will now be used to prioritize patients on the waiting list.

Following the adoption of the new medical criteria the board heard a presentation by the Dr. Richard Freeman, Chairman of the Distribution Units Subcommittee, of the UNOS Liver and Intestinal Transplant Committee. Dr. Freeman argued before the board that his committee could not agree on a new distribution system and that there was no consensus that broader sharing of organs would have any benefit. The board then voted to accept the findings from Freeman's committee.

"Dr. Freeman made a very biased and misleading presentation," stated Craig Irwin, president of National Transplant Action Committee (NTAC) and a member of the Campaign. "There is plenty of evidence that the current system of organ allocation is not fair and that patients are needlessly dying because they are being overlooked in favor of healthier patients."

Yesterday's decision by the UNOS board comes in light of new federal regulations mandating changes to the manner in which livers are distributed. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) regulations adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and implemented in March are very clear and specific in their requirements. The law requires that the OPTN:

• Utilize standardized, objective medical criteria to determine medical urgency
• Give highest priority to the most medically urgent candidates (based upon the new criteria); and,
• Distribute organs over as broad a geographic area as is feasible.

According to the HHS regulation, UNOS was supposed to submit its new liver allocation proposal to the federal government on March 16, 2000, the day that the regulation went into effect. Instead, the UNOS Board of Directors submitted a plan that promised a new liver allocation proposal by the end of this year.

It is not clear whether the new MELD system will meet the requirements of the federal regulations. The UNOS board's refusal to implement broader sharing of organs clearly violates the new federal law.

The Campaign for Transplant Fairness is a voluntary alliance of the nation's leading patient advocacy groups, transplant hospitals, and organ procurement organizations dedicated to enhancing congressional support for a more equitable organ allocation system and a nationwide effort to stimulate increased organ donation. The Campaign seeks to save more lives and represents a unified voice seeking positive change on behalf of patients. The Campaign also works to guide the transplant community toward reasonable resolution of contentious issues.

Copyright © 2000 U.S. Newswire.

This article posted December 2, 2000.