$1.7 Million to Study National Potential for Future Deceased Donation

My comment: $1.7 Million to Study what??

November 8, 2010

Center for Transplant System Excellence to Study National Potential for Future Deceased Donation; Federal Contract Amendment Worth Nearly $1.7 Million Over Two Years

As the demand for organ transplantation continues to grow, many key decisions in medical care and national policy depend on a realistic estimate of the future number of potential deceased organ donors. The Center for Transplant System Excellence, a new initiative of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), will study this issue under UNOS' contract with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). HRSA will add $1.7 million in federal funds to the contract over two years to support a multidisciplinary study to estimate deceased donor potential in the United States.

"We're at a pivotal time in transplantation, as many historical assumptions about donor potential are changing," said Kevin Myer, business director of the new center. "Donation and transplant professionals accept a broader range of potential donors based on age and medical condition than they did just a decade ago. More broadly, changing trends in medical care, rates of disease in the population, and rapidly changing population demographics all affect mortality and donation potential."

"We plan to combine research and expertise across a number of disciplines - transplant and public health professionals, system science experts, social scientists - to address the topic in a way not traditionally viewed by these groups working separately," said Karl McCleary, Ph.D., scientific director for the center and the study's principal investigator. "This way we can get a fuller picture of what we can expect over the long term. In turn, we hope that policy-makers and clinicians will use this knowledge both to improve current transplant care for patients and better prepare for future challenges."

Under the contract amendment, the Center for Transplant System Excellence will seek input from experts in organ procurement and transplantation as well as disciplines including system dynamics, public health, demography, epidemiology and geography. The goal of the study is to develop a dynamic model to estimate donor potential both nationally and regionally over the next five to ten years.

"The emphasis on system dynamics is particularly important," said Dr. McCleary. "Over time, practices will change because of the complex nature of the health care delivery system and the dynamics of the population. We hope to develop a model that can suggest how donor potential may change as the U.S. population changes and as the field of transplantation reaches different conclusions about who is medically suitable to donate."

In addition to the overall number of possible donors, the study will seek to categorize them according to age and medical condition and how many may die of circulatory failure as opposed to brain death. The researchers will also examine current assumptions about in-hospital location of potential donors in light of possible future changes in where and when death is declared, as this may also affect the potential for donation.

This study represents the first major project for the Center for Transplant System Excellence. The center will utilize the expertise and capabilities of UNOS staff in collaboration with academic and clinical researchers, nationally and internationally, who share an interest in advancing the field of transplantation.

"With the formation of this center, we plan to bring a focused approach to a number of problems and opportunities that affect the entire transplant community but have lacked systematic efforts," said UNOS Executive Director Walter Graham.

"We want to encourage partnerships across the entire spectrum - social science, medical care and healthcare administration - so that we all may have a better understanding and can apply the lessons learned," Graham said. "We also believe we can share the experience of the U.S. transplant community with developing transplant programs and transplant networks in other countries, not only to share our experiences but also to learn from their approaches to the challenges we face. This federally funded initiative will help the OPTN and its members adapt their practices to these changing assumptions and dynamics. Our greatest hope is that we will be able to increase donation and transplantation as a result."

A private nonprofit organization operating the OPTN under contract with the federal government, UNOS manages the nation's organ transplant system and oversees the world's most comprehensive database of clinical transplant information. UNOS' staff of 345 employees operates the 24-hour computerized organ sharing system, matching donated organs to patients registered on the national OPTN waiting list. UNOS seeks to increase organ donation through education and improve transplant success rates through outcomes-based research and policymaking. UNOS-developed technology applications are recognized internationally by transplant scientists and health officials as the model for organ sharing.

http://www.unos.org/about/index.php?topic=newsroom&article_id=2641:34530d1cb2e769ac1f55320505468655