• Journal article examines rise in kidney discard rate over time
  Monday, December 19, 2016
  A recent study analyzed factors underlying the steady increase in discards of deceased donor kidneys.
  

• Imminent and eligible definition data reporting changes
  Tuesday, December 13, 2016
  Effective Jan. 1, 2017; training available on UNOS Connect
  

• Changes to requirements for donor information shipped with organs
  Tuesday, December 13, 2016
  Changes align with CMS regulatory changes, effective January 1, 2017.
  

• Nominees chosen for 2017 board election
  Sunday, December 11, 2016
  OPTN/UNOS member voting representatives will receive a ballot and biographical information for the nominees in early 2017.
  

• OPTN/UNOS Board Places Indiana Donor Network on Probation
  Monday, December 5, 2016
  A routine site survey of records at the organization identified concerns with completeness of documentation in donor charts and adherence to its established quality processes.
  

• Probation ended for Baptist Memorial Hospital
  Monday, December 5, 2016
  The board had placed the hospital on probation in October 2014 to address concerns relating to a pattern of lower-than-expected patient and graft survival rates at its heart transplant program. More recent outcomes for heart recipients transplanted at the hospital have shown improvement.
  

• OPTN/UNOS Board approves revised adult heart allocation system, clarifies exception points for liver transplant candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma
  Monday, December 5, 2016
  The OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors, at its meeting Dec. 5 and 6 in St. Louis, approved a major update of the system used to allocate hearts for adult transplant candidates nationwide. In other action, the Board approved policy changes to refine automatic approval of exception points for liver transplant candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a form of liver cancer.
  

• At one year anniversary, HOPE Act impact continuing to be assessed
  Monday, November 21, 2016
  As of November 18, 2016, 19 transplants (13 kidney and six liver transplants) have been performed involving organs from HIV-positive donors for HIV-positive recipients.
  

• Webinar recording available on improving post-transplant communication
  Wednesday, November 16, 2016
  Policy changes are effective September 1, 2016; updates in special pathogens list effective December 1, 2016.
  

• Committee continues review of input on liver distribution issues
  Thursday, November 3, 2016
  The committee will further review various solutions to address geographic disparities in liver distribution, with the goal of developing a revised proposal for public comment in the near future.
  

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