UNOS - participate in the policy-making process

[okarol]

There are a couple of UNOS proposals out for public comment:

Proposal to verify that foreign agencies importing organs to the United States, or receiving organs exported from the United States, are legitimate and test organs for transplant safety. Specifically, this proposal would clarify the need to verify the clinical (laboratory) safety of imported organs, the application of ethical practices in recovering deceased donor organs imported for transplant, and the legitimacy of the foreign organization engaged in importing an organ to an OPTN member or receiving an organ exported from an OPTN member.

http://www.unos.org/policiesAndBylaws/publicComment/proposals.asp - Ad Hoc International Relations Committee

And one that "would require OPTN member transplant programs that perform living donor transplants to only transplant organs recovered at an OPTN member institution." In other words, a person would not be able to donate a kidney at a local hospital unless it was an OPTN member.

http://www.unos.org/policiesAndBylaws/publicComment/proposals.asp - Living Donor Committee

[Zach]

Proposal to verify that foreign agencies importing organs to the United States, or receiving organs exported from the United States, are legitimate and test organs for transplant safety.

I never knew that the U.S.A. imported organs.

[pelagia]

For some reason I couldn't get to the site using the links below, but using http://www.optn.org/ I found the right page by clicking the links.

I was interested in the living donor proposal.  Interestingly, the Living Donor Committee of OPTN has 1/3 living donors as membership.