Post by mhbruin on Mar 22, 2023 9:46:57 GMT -8
If They Only Had a Brain and a Heart
The government announced plans Wednesday to overhaul the troubled U.S. organ transplant system, including breaking up the monopoly power of the nonprofit organization that has run it for the past 37 years.
If successful, the proposal would leave little unaffected in the sprawling, multibillion-dollar network that sends kidneys, livers and other organs from deceased donors to severely ill recipients. That system has long been criticized as inadequate: Nearly 104,000 people are on waiting lists for organs, most of them kidneys; 22 people die each day awaiting transplants, with poor and minority patients generally faring worse than affluent and White people.
Carole Johnson, administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, the agency responsible for the network, is proposing to break up responsibility for some of the functions performed by its nonprofit manager, the United Network for Organ Sharing. UNOS is the only entity ever to operate the U.S. transplant system.
She said in an interview that she would invite other organizations to take over those areas. They would bid for separate contracts, creating the first competitive environment in the history of the transplant system.
“Our goal is to get best in class for all the functions we think are essential to running the transplant network,” Johnson said.
A spokeswoman for UNOS did not respond to an email seeking comment on the proposal Tuesday evening.
Under UNOS, which holds a $6.5 million annual contract with HRSA, the network has been plagued by problems: Too many organs are discarded, damaged in transit or simply not collected, faulty technology sometimes jeopardizes transplants, and poor performers face little accountability.
What Would You Do With a Brain If You Had One?
The government announced plans Wednesday to overhaul the troubled U.S. organ transplant system, including breaking up the monopoly power of the nonprofit organization that has run it for the past 37 years.
If successful, the proposal would leave little unaffected in the sprawling, multibillion-dollar network that sends kidneys, livers and other organs from deceased donors to severely ill recipients. That system has long been criticized as inadequate: Nearly 104,000 people are on waiting lists for organs, most of them kidneys; 22 people die each day awaiting transplants, with poor and minority patients generally faring worse than affluent and White people.
Carole Johnson, administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, the agency responsible for the network, is proposing to break up responsibility for some of the functions performed by its nonprofit manager, the United Network for Organ Sharing. UNOS is the only entity ever to operate the U.S. transplant system.
She said in an interview that she would invite other organizations to take over those areas. They would bid for separate contracts, creating the first competitive environment in the history of the transplant system.
“Our goal is to get best in class for all the functions we think are essential to running the transplant network,” Johnson said.
A spokeswoman for UNOS did not respond to an email seeking comment on the proposal Tuesday evening.
Under UNOS, which holds a $6.5 million annual contract with HRSA, the network has been plagued by problems: Too many organs are discarded, damaged in transit or simply not collected, faulty technology sometimes jeopardizes transplants, and poor performers face little accountability.
What Would You Do With a Brain If You Had One?