OPTN: 2 living donor related policy proposals, public comment through 12/6/13

[Clark]

http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/policiesAndBylaws/publicComment/proposals.asp

3   Proposal to Establish Minimum Requirements for Living Liver Donor Follow-Up (Living Donor Committee) *
This proposal would require transplant programs to report required fields on the Living Donor Follow-Up (LDF) form at required post-operative reporting periods (6, 12, and 24 months). The OPTN currently relies on Living Donor Follow-Up (LDF) forms to collect data on the short-term health status of living donors. Data on living donors who donated since 2006 demonstrate that many programs do not report meaningful living donor follow-up information at required reporting intervals. Consequently, to allow for meaningful analyses to objectively study the short-term effects of living donation, the transplant community must collectively improve reporting of patient information on the LDF form. The proposed minimum reporting requirements are based on recommendations from the Joint Society Work Group, which is composed of representatives from the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), and the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO) to the OPTN/UNOS Living Donor Committee.
Proposal: http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/PublicComment/pubcommentPropSub_325.pdf
Submit Your Comments: http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/policiesAndBylaws/publicComment/submitYourComment.asp?PropID=349

4   Proposal to Require UNetsm Registration of all Living Donor Organ Candidates Prior to Transplant (Living Donor Committee) *
Under this proposal, all candidates for living donor transplants would be required to be added to the waiting list before their transplant. All living donor organ recipients are already reported to UNetsm and are charged a registration fee, just like candidates for deceased donor organs. Most transplant programs add living donor organ transplant candidates to the waiting list prior to the transplant procedure via Waitlistsm, while other programs may report a living donor organ transplant recipient after the transplant occurs via Tiedism. Patient safety benefits associated with registering a candidate prior to transplant, include improved blood type verification prior to the transplant procedure, providing unique identifiers for comparing donor and candidate information, and the accrual of wait time. Please note that this proposal would not change the registration fees paid to the OPTN contractor.
Proposal: http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/PublicComment/pubcommentPropSub_326.pdf
Submit Your Comments: http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/policiesAndBylaws/publicComment/submitYourComment.asp?PropID=350

[Clark]

I've submitted my brief statements strongly supporting these proposals, have you? I also expressed my hope that these minimal steps might soon lead to mandatory lifetime followup of all living donors AND living donor candidates, past, present, and future, with the only acceptable exceptions being made for written opt out along with written verification of informed consent.

[Clark]

Region 1 voted to support both proposals unanimously.