OPTN Board approves transplant candidate diagnoses associated with COVID-19 related organ failure
Published on: Wednesday, October 14, 2020
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Board of Directors, meeting by conference call Oct. 8, approved the addition of new diagnosis codes available for lung transplant candidates and new diagnosis codes along with an update to an existing code available for heart transplant candidates.
Effective Monday, Oct. 28, the following diagnoses and update will be included in the drop down menu in TIEDI® and WaitlistSM:
Lung candidates
- COVID-19: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- COVID-19: PULMONARY FIBROSIS
Heart candidates
- COVID-19: DILATED MYOPATHY: ACTIVE MYOCARDITIS
- COVID-19: DILATED MYOPATHY: HISTORY OF MYOCARDITIS
- DILATED MYOPATHY: VIRAL changed to DILATED MYOPATHY: VIRAL (NOT COVID-19)
The purpose of adding these options is to specify when COVID-19 related organ failure is the cause for lung and heart transplant candidate listings and is outlined in this policy notice.
The proposed action, addressing lung candidate diagnoses, was published for public comment from Aug. 31 through Oct 1. During the public comment period, the OPTN Heart Transplantation Committee recommended that heart candidate diagnoses be added to those originally proposed for lung candidates. The OPTN Board of Directors approved the revised proposal during an Oct. 8 conference call.