The Trump administration announced a proposed rule Tuesday that would require more organs to be considered for transplantation in order to increase the number of available organs, especially kidneys.
Organ procurement organizations would have to consider “imperfect” organs from people who currently would not be permitted to donate in order to boost the number of available organs. A senior administration aide told reporters Tuesday that about 5,000 more organs will become available if the proposed rule is finalized.
“Every day, twenty Americans die waiting for an organ and thousands of Americans are languishing on waitlists. That is unacceptable and represents a missed opportunity to save lives and improve the quality of life.” https://t.co/oLaPTA8xYs pic.twitter.com/puTOiR7hGK
— Administrator Seema Verma (@SeemaCMS) December 17, 2019
For instance, while most older donors and those with hypertension would be excluded today, the proposed rule would mandate that they be considered for safe transplantation. Organs coming from donors who have Hepatitis C will be considered because the virus is curable.
Moreover, organs from donors who are HIV+ will be considered for donation to patients who are also HIV+.
The Department of Health and Human Services will monitor organ procurement organizations’ self-reported data each year rather than every four years, as is the practice now. The senior administration aide told reporters that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would make all data public to ensure patients can see which organizations are making the most organs available as possible, compared to those that are underperforming.
The proposal is part of President Trump’s July executive order to improve kidney disease care and organ-transplant rates. Most of the proposed changes would begin in 2022.
In addition to changing the way the organizations find organs for eligible transplant patients, HHS is proposing changes to encourage more people to become live-organ donors, as recipients of living organs often have better health outcomes and longer lives. The Health Resources and Services Administration would extend reimbursable expenses for living donors to include lost wages and child care and elder care costs to make up for financial barriers donors face.
