Fellowship training requirements have historically served as the foundation for key personnel requirements in OPTN/UNOS Bylaws. Primary kidney transplant physician requirements in the Bylaws have not evolved with nephrology fellowship training. For example, the Bylaws currently do not accommodate transplant nephrology fellowships longer than 12 months which have been developed for fellows wishing to pursue transplantation research during their training period, nor do they include requirements pertaining to the evaluation of living donors or potential kidney recipients which are now standard fellowship requirements. The goal of this proposal is to update the Bylaws to better align with transplant nephrology fellowship requirements.
Public comment: 8/15/2016 - 10/15/2016
Read the full proposal. (PDF - 146 K)
UNOS and OPTN member impact summary
Project size/Complexity
UNOS
No substantial implementation or ongoing staff effort exists.
Project size = Very Small
Member
Transplant center
Implementation timeframe for Transplant Centers is minimal, as there is already a framework in place to verify physician requirements. Internal policy updates will require minimal staff time.
OPOs and Labs
OPOs and labs are not affected.
OPTN Policy/Bylaws affected
Bylaws appendix E.3 (A-F): Primary kidney transplant physician requirements
Summary of changes
These Bylaws changes will align primary kidney transplant physician requirements with transplant nephrology fellowship requirements. With the exception of requiring a certain number of kidney biopsies and observing a living donor kidney transplant, the changes incorporate all other relevant requirements that transplant programs must continually meet to be accredited by the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Training Accreditation Program. The most significant element of these changes is modifying Appendix E.3.A so that it will accommodate transplant nephrology fellows who opt to complete their fellowship through the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Training Accreditation Program’s alternative pathway.
What members need to do
No immediate action will be required of members when we implement these changes. After implementation, we will evaluate any membership and key personnel change applications we receive from kidney programs based on the changes.
