Board addresses member probation, living donor resource

Published on: Thursday, February 21, 2008

Orlando, Fla. -- At its meeting today, the OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors withdrew the status of probation for Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. The Board had placed Sharp on probation in September 2006 based on functional inactivity involving its pancreas transplant program. The center was allowed to continue transplant activity while under probationary status.

"Sharp has made a series of corrective actions we required, and its recent pancreas transplant activity has increased," said OPTN/UNOS President Timothy Pruett, M.D. "We will continue to monitor the center's transplant activity with an emphasis on patient safety and access to care."

In other action, the board endorsed further consideration of a resource document for medical evaluation of potential living kidney donors, a topic previously discussed at the last OPTN/UNOS Board meeting in September 2007. "The draft document has evolved, and there is much greater community consensus on the most recent version," said Dr. Pruett. However, the OPTN/UNOS Living Donor Committee was asked to reconsider the document in light of recently raised editorial and technical comments. "Our hope is that the OPTN/UNOS Executive Committee can vote on a final document very soon, before the next Board meeting in June," added Dr. Pruett.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) is operated under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Division of Transplantation by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). The OPTN brings together medical professionals, transplant recipients and donor families to develop organ transplantation policy.