CMS Finalizes New Rule Increasing the Number of Available Organs and Saving Lives

(Washington, D.C., December 2, 2020) Each year, more than 28,000 viable organs are wasted. Global Liver Institute has heard the outcry of countless patients impacted by liver disease waiting for a transplant. The numbers do not lie, and as long as we continue to lose lives, we must strive for positive change. In response, we have advocated for the modernization of the U.S. Organ Donation system with a simple goal: Improve care for transplant patients and increase the number of available organs.

As we have stressed consistently, a vital first step towards accomplishing this goal is Congressional oversight and Administration action. This is why in July of 2019, we could not have been more excited to see a positive step in modernizing this system, President Trump’s Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health. In the months since the announcement of this order, and thanks to the advocacy efforts of the transplant community, we have also seen bipartisan support in Congress.

This movement of the community has culminated in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) just recently finalizing a rule that reforms the quality measures that Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) must meet in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid payment. This rule is a critical provision within the executive order and increases accountability by setting new, objective, transparent, reliable, enforceable outcome measures and metrics for OPOs. It ensures safe, high quality care that puts patients first by supporting higher donation rates; reducing discarded but viable organs; and modernizing organ recovery and transplantation. Overall, this rule shortens waiting lists and saves lives by incentivizing OPOs to increase the number of safe, timely transplants.

In response to this positive action, all we have seen from the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO), and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the publication of misleading claims and a denouncement of these positive reforms. Instead of working with the transplant community and putting the lives of patients first, we have seen an unwillingness to change. We have also had to consistently fact check and ensure patients see the truth through the fog of confusion AOPO and UNOS intend to manufacture.

Patients need more organs. AOPO and UNOS must stop fighting the movement of the community, and give up this fruitless and life threatening effort. The rule must stand.

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About Global Liver Institute

Global Liver Institute (GLI) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, with offices in the U.S. and Europe. GLI's vision is for liver health to take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with its prevalence and impact. GLI's mission is to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by liver disease through promoting innovation, encouraging collaboration, and supporting the scaling of optimal approaches to help eradicate liver diseases. For more information, visit www.GlobalLiver.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

For more information contact:

Andrew Scott
Global Liver Institute
ascott@globalliver.org