Texas organ procurement groups look ahead to system revamp
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Texas organ procurement organizations (OPOs) are looking ahead to a more efficient transplant network following the Biden administration's plan to revamp the nation's system that allocates organs.
Why it matters: Audits and a congressional probe last year chronicled problems including long wait times, inequities in allocations, failing IT infrastructure, and even organs lost in transit.
- Until now, the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing has had the only contract for managing the system.
State of play: The federal Health Resources and Services Administration announced in March that it would solicit multiple bids to "foster competition" in managing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
- The agency also plans to modernize the network's IT system and build data dashboards detailing individual transplant center data on organ retrieval, waitlist outcomes and transplants.
Zoom in: Three federally designated OPOs serve Texas because of the state's size: Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, Southwest Transplant Alliance and LifeGift.
- They are the only organizations that can recover organs.
By the numbers: There are more than 10,000 Texans awaiting transplants, with Black and Latino people representing the largest need. Most are in need of kidney transplants, Dallas-based Southwest Transplant Alliance president and CEO Brad Adams tells Axios.
- More than 25% of kidneys went unused last year in the U.S., according to Adams.
- Last year, 829 organs were transplanted in Texas and the state's donor registry reached 14 million, according to the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance.
- The technology the OPOs use has not advanced in 15 years, Adams estimates.
Between the lines: Jessica Rudd, vice president of the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance which serves San Antonio, tells Axios the organization has implemented its own changes, like doubling the number of staff over the last two years.
Of note: The Southwest Transplant Alliance has an initiative to educate Latinos on organ donation, which includes a Spanish website.
- Individuals interested in becoming a donor can register online.
The bottom line: Adams says the modernization will help OPOs honor the gifts of donors better.
- "We're hoping for modernization of the systems policies, collaboration, collection of information and data — all of the things that we know can drive improvements to donation. Our real focus is the donor family and making sure that their loved ones' gifts have the best opportunity of being transplanted," he says.
This story has been updated to clarify that Adams, per a spokesperson, was referring only to technology (not allocation policies as well) when he said there had been no advancement in 15 years.