UNOS DonateLife

April 4, 2001

UNOS, Microsoft Technology Saving Lives

The combination of Internet-based technology and Microsoft products is speeding the communication of vital, time-sensitive data on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

The combination drew the recent attention on Win2tv, a video production team working for Compaq. The video follows the organ matching process through the UNOS Organ Center with the use of UNet.

"Nowhere else is the Internet being used so directly to save human lives," said UNOS Executive Director Walter K. Graham.

In all, over 200 UNOS employees and more than 4,000 users in hospitals and transplant centers are linked by UNOS' systems. An average of between 275 and 350 concurrent users are supported on the UNOS site, with peak usage topping 500 concurrent users.

Microsoft support products, including Windows 2000, are used extensively at UNOS. Microsoft engineers and technicians looked at UNOS and its needs, taking anticipated growth and needs into account before suggesting the system in use now. The solution was built on the Microsoft Windows NT Server network.

UNOS remains on the cutting edge in the medical field with its use of high tech software to disseminate secure patient data. The transplant community might see greater use of wireless handheld devices in the future for faster communications, said UNOS IT Director Berkeley Keck, R.N., M.P.H.

"We knew we wanted to go with the Internet," Keck explained. "What we really wanted was a platform on the Internet where a member could run real-time interactive processes. We'd be able to collect 300-400 data elements per form, validate them, and give feedback over the Internet."