Committee established to advance multi-organ policy development

Published on: Thursday, May 13, 2021

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network has established a new ad hoc committee to develop allocation policies that address multiple organ groups and the practice of multi-organ allocation. Committee members include leaders of each of the organ-specific committees as well as leaders of the Organ Procurement Organizations Committee, the Pediatrics Committee, the Minority Affairs Committee, and the Patient Affairs Committee.

Current OPTN policy includes some general requirements for when organ procurement organizations (OPOs) must offer a second organ to the same candidate, as well as more specific policies for certain multi-organ combinations, including kidney-pancreas and liver-kidney allocation. This committee will take a more comprehensive approach to multi-organ policy development to accompany the development of a continuous distribution allocation system. The committee will consider developing eligibility criteria and safety nets for various multi-organ combinations, similar to what is in place for liver-kidney, and will consider overall match run prioritization. It will sponsor proposals for public comment and incorporate feedback into proposals to convey to the OPTN Board of Directors.

The members of the committee are as follows:

Charlie Alexander, RN, M.S.N., M.B.A., CPTC (Committee chair)

The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland

 

Sandra Amaral, M.D, M.H.S.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

 

Marie Budev, D.O.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation

 

Vincent Casingal, M.D.

Carolinas Medical Center

 

Christopher Curran, CPTC, CTBS, CTOP

LifeGift Organ Donation Center

 

Alejandro Diez, M.D.

Ohio State University Medical Center

 

Alden Doyle, M.D., M.P.H.

University of Virginia Health Sciences Center

 

Garrett Erdle

Living donor

 

Shelley Hall, M.D.

Baylor University Medical Center

 

Evelyn Hsu, M.D.

Seattle Children’s Hospital

 

Keren Ladin, Ph.D.

Tufts Medical Center

 

Molly McCarthy

Transplant recipient

 

Stacy McKean, RN

LifeCenter Northwest

 

Oyedolamu Olaitan, M.D., M.B.B.S.

Rush University Medical Center

 

James Pomposelli, M.D., Ph.D., FACS

University of Colorado Hospital/Health Science Center

 

Jennifer Prinz, RN, B.S.N., M.P.H., CPTC

Donor Alliance

 

Kurt Shutterly, RN, CPTC

Center for Organ Recovery and Education

 

Nicole Turgeon, M.D., FACS

University of Texas at Austin