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Call for nominations

Published on: Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The OPTN/UNOS is seeking nominations to fill available regional representative and at-large positions on OPTN/UNOS committees. Committee members are all volunteers, representing a variety of professional disciplines and personal experience and expertise in organ transplantation. Our organization values diversity and strives for a committee system that represents the community we serve. Therefore, committee members may be donation or transplant professionals, transplant candidates or recipients, living donors, donor families, and/or members of the general public. The overall composition of the committee should reflect diversity in opinions as well as race, ethnicity, and gender. Our committee volunteers make crucial recommendations that shape our collective ability to achieve the mission of matching organs and saving lives.

To indicate interest in serving on a committee, complete our online bio form at https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/members/get-involved/. Note that you can indicate interest in multiple committees and positions on the form. Prior to submitting the bio form, we recommend that you review the below information regarding committee terms and expectations for each role. If interested in a regional representative term beginning July 1, 2018, submit the bio form by October 20, 2017.  If interested in at-large positions, submit the bio form by December 1, 2017. If you submitted a bio-form earlier this year or in 2016 and did not receive a committee appointment, our staff will be in touch with you to confirm your continued interest and get any updated information needed.

Responsibilities for committee members:

In general, committee members are expected to:

  • Attend, prepare for, and actively participate in monthly (sometimes more frequent) web conferences and in-person committee meetings (usually held in Chicago twice a year).  OPTN/UNOS covers the cost of travel, lodging, and reasonable expenses for committee meetings.
  • Participate in a subcommittee and/or workgroup. 

In addition, regional representatives on committees are expected to:

  • Attend regional meetings twice a year and present updates on committee activities and public comment proposals. UNOS does not cover travel expenses for regional representatives to attend regional meetings.
  • Relay regional meeting feedback to the committee.  

Selection Process

The OPTN/UNOS President-Elect appoints incoming committee members to fill open positions. Each committee with openings will review biography forms and make recommendations to the OPTN/UNOS President-Elect. Regional nominating committees will make recommendations on regional representatives. Selections will be based on the needs of the committee and the organization for diversity in perspectives and subject specific expertise.  All nominees will be notified by March 1, 2018.

Open committee positions

The term for these positions will begin July 1, 2018. With the exception of MPSC members (who serve a two-year term), all committee members serve a three-year term.

Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee meets monthly via web conference and twice a year in-person. The Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding emerging ethical issues in the national transplant network. The goal of the committee's work is to ensure that OPTN/UNOS policies and activities are consistent with accepted ethical principles.

Open positions:

  • Region 4 representative
  • Region 5 representative
  • Region 7 representative
  • Region 10 representative
  • At-Large position (1)

The Committee is seeking individuals with a background in bioethics. 

The Committee prefers to have a living donor serve in one of these positions.*

Living Donor Committee

The Living Donor Committee meets monthly via web conference and twice a year in-person. The Living Donor Committee develops policy and guidance related to the donation and transplantation of organs from living donors to recipients. The goal of the committee's work is to continue to improve the informed choice of prospective living donors, and the safety, protection and follow-up of all living donors.
Open positions:

• Region 1 representative

The Committee prefers a living donor to serve in this role.*

Membership & Professional Standards Committee

The MPSC meets in-person at least three times a year for three days each, usually in Chicago. The MPSC may also have 2-3 special in person meetings over the course of the year in addition to about 6 two-hour conference calls. The MPSC has two standing subcommittees and each committee member is appointed to one of these. Committee members are also assigned to two or more ad hoc subcommittees/ work groups. Each of these groups will meet by conference call 4-5 times per year. The calls are approximately two hours in length.

Each member is responsible for conducting peer evaluation activities including the evaluation of new program applications, applications for changes in key personnel, living donor adverse events, performance surveys, and potential policy violations. Items must be reviewed within the specified time limit, which could range from a day to 2 weeks depending on the issue.  Members will receive 65-100 cases annually to review.

These case reviews may require up to four hours of work per week. The Committee is charged with ensuring that OPTN/UNOS member clinical transplant hospitals, organ procurement agencies, tissue typing laboratories, and non-institutional members meet and remain in compliance with OPTN/UNOS criteria for institutional membership.

Open positions:

• Region 3 associate councillor**
• Region 4 associate councillor**
• Region 5 associate councillor**
• Region 6 associate councillor**
• Region 9 associate councillor**
• liver surgeon (2)
• pediatric or adult hepatologist (1)
• nephrologist (2-3)
• pulmonologist (1)
• kidney surgeons (4)
• pancreas surgeons (3-4)
• heart surgeon (1)
• pediatric or adult cardiologist (1)
• lung surgeon (1-2)
• liver surgeon (2)
• VCA expert (1)
• OPO quality/compliance specialist representative (1)
• OPO clinical/procurement Director (1)
• Histocompatibility representative (1)
• Transplant Administrator representative (2-3)

**An election will be held for this position.

Operations & Safety

The Operations and Safety Committee meets monthly via web conference and twice a year in-person.  The goal of the committee's work is to identify gaps in OPTN/UNOS policy and processes from a network perspective for the purpose of increasing safety or efficiency.

Open positions:

• At-Large (1)

The committee prefers an OPO professional for this position.*

Pancreas Transplantation

The Pancreas Committee meets monthly via web conference and twice a year in-person.  The Committee is charged with considering medical, scientific, and ethical aspects related to pancreas and pancreas islet organ procurement, distribution, and allocation.

Open positions:

• At-Large (1)

The committee is seeking the following*:

• Patient, recipient, or donor family representative; or
• M.D. with pancreas islet experience. 

Patient Affairs

The Patient Affairs Committee meets monthly via web conference and twice a year in-person.  The Committee advises the OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors and other committees about patient and donor family perspectives on OPTN/UNOS policies and initiatives that originate in other committees.

Open positions:

• Region 8 representative
• Region 11 representative
• At-Large (2)

The committee is seeking the following*:

• Individuals who meet one of the categories below and have a background in corporate or non-profit governance, public policy, or healthcare finance.
• kidney recipients
• thoracic organ recipients 
• recipients who have been transplanted recently
• deceased donor family members

Thoracic Organ Transplantation

The Thoracic Committee has two subcommittees (a heart subcommittee and a lung subcommittee) that meet monthly via web conference and the full committee meets twice a year in-person. The committee considers issues relating to heart and lung procurement, allocation, and transplantation, including medical, scientific, and ethical aspects.
Open positions:

  • At-Large (2)

The Committee is seeking the following*:

  • OPO representative, preferably from an OPO that places a high volume of hearts and lungs
  • lung surgeon
  • pediatric cardiologist.

Transplant Administrators Committee

The Transplant Administrators Committee meets monthly for two hour web conferences and twice a year in-person.  The committee also comes together annually at the UNOS Transplant Management Forum.  The Committee considers issues related to the administration of transplant programs and provides input to other Committees and the Board with regard to the potential impact of developing policies and other OPTN requirements on transplant program operations.
Open positions:

• Region 5 representative
• Region 6 representative
• Region 8 representative

The committee is seeking transplant administrators overseeing pediatric and kidney paired donation programs.  The committee also is seeking a transplant administrator overseeing a program that is participating in the OPTN COIIN pilot.*