A man in
Seattle
needs a
new heart
to go on
living . . .
A Chicago
woman’s
liver
is failing . . .
A boy in
Boston waits
for a kidney
to release
him
from daily
dialysis . . .
And a family in
Denver decides
to donate the
organs of a
family member
who has died . . .
What’s the Connection?
?
UNOS Organization
 Non-profit
and charitable
 Membership
organization
 Government
contractor
National Organ Transplant Act of 1984
(NOTA)
 Prohibited
buying/selling organs
 Created
Organ Procurement and
Transplantation Network (OPTN)
 Established
Scientific Registry of
Transplant Recipients
What OPTN/UNOS Does

Facilitates organ distribution, transplantation

Establishes equitable policies

Maintains national transplant waiting list

Monitors members for policy compliance

Collects/validates/reports transplant data

Promotes organ availability
Who Are Our Members?
As of May 2012
Transplant Centers
Organ Procurement Orgs.
Histocompatibility Labs
Public Orgs.
Medical/Scientific Orgs.
Individual Members
242
58
156
6
16
7
Organ Matching
Donor organ
National
computer
matching
system
Patients
waiting
Potential
recipient list
Transplant
Organ Matching Criteria
 Medical
urgency
 Tissue
match
 Blood
type
 Waiting
 Organ
time
size
 Immune
status
 Geographic
distance
UNOS Regional Map
Policy Development
Transplant
Community
Input
Committee(s)
Issue
Public
Comment
Process
Board of
Directors
Policy

Process is flexible

May take as little as 3 months or as long as several years

Could involve thousands of individuals
OPTN/UNOS Committees







Organ Specific
 Thoracic
 Liver/Intestine
 Kidney
 Pancreas
OPO
Organ Availability
Finance
Transplant Administrators
Policy Oversight
International Relations










Disease Transmission Advisory
Membership & Professional
Standards
Ethics
Histocompatibility
Patient Affairs
Minority Affairs
Pediatrics
Living Donor
Transplant Coordinators
Operations
Deceased and Living Donors
2002 - 2011
Our Challenge
The U. S. Organ Shortage
120,000
90,000
60,000
30,000
2001
Donors
2003
Transplants
2005
2009
Patients Waiting
2011
Promoting Organ Availability

Public awareness through Donate Life
America and local affiliates

Identifying and sharing best practices

Education/Collaboration involving
transplant and other health professionals
Transplants
Save
Lives
www.unos.org