OPO leaders champion performance data disclosure and health equity emphasis

With the announcement of the Health Resources and Services administration's efforts to modernize the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, organ procurement organization thought leaders are celebrating progress. For the past two years, the Organ Donation Consortium (ODC) has been pushing Congress and the Administration for maximum transparency, accountability, and equity. The OPTN Modernization Initiative brings the promise of improvements to the organ donation and transplantation ecosystem, raising the confidence that the Federal government will prioritize an equitable and accountable system.

The ODC is comprised of five of the nation's leading organ procurement organizations and collectively represents almost 38 million Americans – over 10% of the U.S. population stretching from California to Florida. These leaders recognize HRSA's efforts to strengthen the entire system and support reform and governance with the resources necessary to ensure the system operates at peak performance. The ODC has played a key role in pushing for system-wide reform and is supporting HRSA's plan to focus on changes, including:

• Publishing data including the overall donation rate by race and ethnicity
• Driving transparency by reforming performance benchmarks based on organ donation potential in each donor service area
• Focusing on quality of service for patients and operational improvements to drive accountability, equity, and performance

"We applaud HRSA's publication of organ donation outcomes by race, which significantly vary among organ procurement organizations (OPOs). We are pleased to have been part of this reform work over the past two years, having recommended to the White House Office of Domestic Policy the need to publish donation rates by race and ethnicity so our communities can understand where our donation system is failing and where it is working," said members of the ODC.

"The ODC will continue to advise policymakers and government agencies to refine organ donation potential data and publish the specific rates to drive performance benchmarking. Among the donation rates of various race and ethnicities, wide disparity exists. Lack of awareness surrounding this data prevents improvement efforts nationally among OPOs, hence the need to increase awareness of and sharpen the focus on closing this gap. The public deserves to see how people of color are being served by the national organ donation system," they continued.

About the Organ Donation Consortium (ODC). The Organ Donation Consortium (the "ODC"), is comprised of five of the nation's leading organ procurement organizations ("OPOs") and collectively represents almost 38 million Americans – over 10% of the U.S. population stretching from California to Florida. The ODC was formed in part to address failures and gaps left by many in the donation and transplantation ecosystem. The ODC expects all new donation and transplantation policies to honor three core principles: (1) Increase collaboration, transparency and accountability among OPOs, Donor Hospitals, and Transplant Centers; (2) Increase equity and decrease disparities within the transplant ecosystem; and (3) Modernize technology among all institutions to maximize donation and transplantation.

ODC Member Organizations:

Donor Network West, San Ramon, CA
Janice Whaley, President & CEO
(925) 480-3227
JWhaley@dnwest.org

OurLegacy, Orlando, FL
Ginny McBride, Executive Director
(407) 543-4102
Ginny.Mcbride@OurLegacyFL.org

Southwest Transplant Alliance, Dallas, TX
Bradley L. Adams, President & CEO
(214) 443-3301
badams@organ.org

Mid-America Transplant, St. Louis, MO
Kevin Lee, President & CEO
(314) 735-8295
klee@midamericatransplant.org

Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, Covington, LA
Kelly Ranum, CEO
(504) 837-3355
kranum@lopa.org

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