The Biden administration plans to announce on Wednesday its plans of reforming the nation's troubled organ transplant system, The Washington Post reported
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) The Biden administration plans to announce on Wednesday its plans of reforming the nation's troubled organ transplant system, The Washington Post reported.
The plan is designed to stop the monopoly power of the non-profit organization, named United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), over the system, which remains unchanged for 37 years now, the report said.
The system has been widely criticized because of its inefficiency, as people have to remain in line for organs they need for a long time. As of now, 104,000 individuals are waiting, most of them for kidneys, and 22 people die every day while awaiting transplants, according to the report.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that low-income and minority patients experience worse care than other Americans, it added.
Administrator of the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Carole Johnson, whose agency is responsible for the network, is proposing to break up responsibility for some of the functions performed by the UNOS and to invite other organizations to work in those areas.
"Our goal is to get best in class for all the functions we think are essential to running the transplant network," Johnson told The Washington Post.
UNOS has a $6.5 million annual contract with HRSA, but the group is unable to fix problems with discarding organs and damaging them during transportation. Bad technologies jeopardize transplants, and those who made mistakes often avoid responsibility for their actions, the report said.
US authorities want to establish a strong board of directors, which would be independent from UNOS and make the entire system more transparent through the creation of a public dashboard for data, the report noted.
The Biden administration plans to double the current funds and to provide $67 million in its proposed fiscal 2024 budget for the modernization of the transplant network, it added.
"What's so critical to us is ensuring we are doing everything possible to improve the system that patients and families depend on," Johnson said.
The government will also ask Congress to amend the law, which virtually confirms UNOS's monopoly over the system. The administration also will request to improve conditions for potential contractors, the report said. Some of these changes could happen as soon as this fall even without Congressional approval, it added.
UNOS, based in Richmond, Virginia, oversees the activity of about 250 hospitals that perform transplants, as well as dozens of nonprofit organizations and labs that collect and test organs. Last month the system went down for 40 minutes, which only highlighted the problems it faces.
A multi-year contract between the government and UNOS should be renewed later this year. It is funded mainly by fees patients pay to be listed for transplants, according to the report.
