National webinar for kidney transplant professionals provides education on OPTN policy action on eGFR waiting time modifications
Published on: Friday, March 3, 2023
Updated March 20, 2023 with a recording of the March 15 webinar
During the March 15 webinar, OPTN Kidney Transplantation Committee chair Martha Pavlakis, M.D., walked kidney transplant professionals through the notification and modification process and answered questions from the community.
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) hosted a webinar for kidney transplant professionals on March 15, 2023, with information about the OPTN Board’s recent policy action requiring programs to modify waiting time for candidates affected by race-inclusive eGFR calculations.
The information in this webinar will help kidney transplant programs understand what they need to do to comply with the policy action, including:
- Identifying Black candidates who may have been impacted by the use of a race-based eGFR calculation
- Determining whether a race-neutral eGFR calculation shows a candidate should have qualified sooner to start gaining waiting time for a transplant
- Communicating with patients about the policy changes and potential impacts to waiting time
- Applying to the OPTN for a waiting time modification for such candidates
- Submitting an attestation to the OPTN that they have completed all of these steps
The OPTN Minority Affairs and Kidney Transplantation Committees co-sponsored the proposal, which was unanimously approved by the Board in December 2022.
The policy action aims to improve transplant equity, and requires programs to comply by Jan. 3, 2024. Find more information in FAQs for professionals.