October 7, 2000
Liver Urgency Scale to Progress Based on Comments
Irving, TX - The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is considering modifications to a proposed improved, objective scale to classify medical urgency of patients needing liver transplants, based on feedback from a public forum held here today.
The proposal, issued by the UNOS Liver and Intestinal Organ Transplantation Committee, addresses a continuous scale to rank liver patients based on medical test results that are significantly associated with short-term death without a liver transplant.
Forum attendees including liver transplant physicians and surgeons, organ recovery professionals and representatives of patient organizations, generally applauded the intent of the proposal but offered various concerns and constructive recommendations. Key points raised by attendees included refinements to address needs of pediatric patients and those with certain rare medical conditions, as well as calls for additional validation of the proposal in liver transplant patients and providing additional data to help professionals and patients better understand the proposal.
The UNOS Liver and Intestinal Organ Transplantation Committee will meet October 12 to consider revisions based on public comments before submitting a formal proposal to the UNOS Board of Directors in November.
"The UNOS policy-making process is able to gather timely input from those most involved in transplantation, both medical professionals and patients," said Todd Howard, M.D., chair of the committee and director of kidney and liver transplantation at Barnes Jewish Medical Center in St. Louis. "The comments we have received will help us refine this proposal to ensure that it reflects sound science and sound medicine."
For more than 15 years, UNOS, a nonprofit charitable organization, has effectively maintained the nation's organ transplant waiting list and brought together medical professionals, transplant recipients and donor families to develop organ allocation policy under contract with the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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