Webinar to address revised heart policy proposal

Published on: Monday, August 22, 2016

During the August - October 2016, public comment cycle, the OPTN/UNOS Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee is issuing a revised proposal to improve the adult heart allocation system.

A heart allocation policy webinar was held on August 18th. You can find a recording at UNOS Connect, UNOS' learning management system.

The public comment proposal on the OPTN website under Governance>Public Comment.

Purpose of the webinar
This webinar is designed to explain the proposed changes, the problems that the proposal will solve, the goals of the proposal and alternatives the committee considered. The webinar will also detail revisions made in response to issues raised regarding the document originally published for public comment in January 2016, including the following:

Stricter qualifying criteria and extension criteria for some of the more urgent status categories
Limiting the proposed broader geographic sharing scheme for the most urgent candidates to donation service area and Zone A (instead of through Zone B)
Modification of the pediatric donor allocation sequence to mitigate the impact to pediatric candidates of changes to adult heart allocation policy
Clarification of the types of mechanical circulatory support devices that qualify for each status
Requiring regional review boards to review cases external to their region
Detailed listing of additional data the committee proposes to collect for future development of a heart allocation score

Attendees will understand the potential impact the proposed changes would have on their transplant centers if it passes.

Webinar Presenter:
Joseph G. Rogers, M.D., immediate past chair of the OPTN/UNOS Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee