UNOS Plays National Role in Lifesaving Organ Transplants

UNOS Plays National Role in Lifesaving Organ Transplants

By Walter Graham
Sunday, March 22, 2009

Most people probably best remember the mid-1980s for a handful of cultural landmarks -- Reaganomics, personal computers, iconic pop music, unnecessarily big hairstyles.

Not many of us remember it as a pioneering time in health care, but it was in many areas. In one field -- organ transplantation -- the mid-1980s marked its transition from a rare treatment, often considered experimental, to a mainstream therapy able to help thousands of people with end-stage organ failure.

Richmond was at the hub of much of that transformation. Twenty-five years ago this week, United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) was incorporated to begin nationwide service for matching donated organs with candidates anxiously awaiting an organ transplant.

UNOS had its roots in the Richmond-based Southeastern Organ Procurement Foundation, a pioneering group that united the efforts of transplant professionals throughout the Mid-Atlantic and the South. Visionary leaders such as Dr. David Hume, the first transplant surgeon at what was then the Medical College of Virginia, and Gene Pierce, SEOPF's executive director and UNOS' founder, saw the need to expand organ transplantation beyond its local practice to a national network. Even before the founding of UNOS, SEOPF established an Organ Center to provide 24-hour service in placing time-sensitive organ offers nationwide.

When UNOS was founded, its services were still used on a voluntary basis by transplant programs and organ procurement organizations. But change was coming. One major innovation was the introduction of new medicines that enhanced transplant survival by minimizing the chance of organ rejection. As a result, many who would never have been considered for transplantation were now suitable potential candidates. The number of people listed for transplantation quickly shot from about 2,000 nationwide to more than 10,000.

At this same time, the U.S. Congress saw the need to establish a national system to coordinate transplantation and ensure that available organs were distributed equitably to those in need. The resulting National Organ Transplant Act set the basis for a national transplant network, to be operated in the private sector under federal contract. UNOS won the first contract to operate the national network beginning in 1986 and continues to operate it today.

Our nonprofit, charitable organization depends upon the active support and cooperation of transplant institutions nationwide, as well as health advocacy organizations and individuals personally touched by organ donation and transplantation, especially here in Richmond.

We develop transplant policy, manage the matching of deceased donor organs with patients in need, and maintain the most comprehensive set of scientific data that exists on a single form of medical treatment. We also educate health care providers and the public about ways to increase organ availability and the scope of the transplant need.

Now, 25 years from our founding, there are many things of which we are proud. More than 450,000 transplants have been performed nationwide. Long-term survival rates have steadily increased, and about a quarter of a million people are alive today in the United States thanks to a life-giving transplant. Our Organ Center continues to provide uninterrupted, 24/7 service to ensure that every opportunity is undertaken to place donated organs.

Our staff of about 300 operates the national network from headquarters in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in the heart of Richmond. Our headquarters is also home to the National Donor Memorial, a facility dedicated to honoring and promoting the transformative gift of organ and tissue donation. Our staff members hail from almost every state and about 15 countries, but we are all proud to be a part of the Richmond region and do our part to save and enhance lives.

Yet we also are uniquely aware of the needs and challenges that continue to exist. There has never been a time when there have been enough donated organs to meet the needs of all candidates. The organ shortage continues to grow, particularly for kidney transplants -- the organ most commonly transplanted and most commonly needed.

Last year we passed a sobering milestone -- more than 100,000 candidates nationwide were listed for an organ transplant. Through the generosity of both deceased and living donors, nearly 30,000 people received transplants. Sadly, about 18 people die each day because a donated organ was not available in time to help them.

You can help advance our mission to save lives. Every transplant begins with one person's commitment to help others through organ donation. In fact, as many as eight individuals can benefit from one donor. Please make your commitment to help, and share that decision with loved ones and friends. Help us to mark our next anniversary as one in which, through the selfless generosity of the American public, we were able to give a second chance at life to everyone in need.

Walter Graham is executive director of UNOS. Its Web site is http://www.unos.org. Contact Graham at Grahamwk@unos.org .

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/commentary/article/GRAHAM322_20090320-202112/237209/