OPTN Board Updates: New Director, Extensions for President and Vice President, Membership Status

In April 2026, the OPTN Board of Directors convened virtually for both an ad hoc meeting on April 3 and its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on April 16. During these meetings, the Board took action to strengthen leadership and governance by appointing a new Director to fill a vacant seat and extending the terms of the President and Vice President. The Board also advanced work on OPTN membership policy and membership status recommendations.

In addition, the Board received updates from the Allocation Out of Sequence (AOOS) workgroup and heard progress reports on efforts to align policies, enhance, stakeholder engagement, and support ongoing governance activities.

Steven Weitzen, J.D., appointed to fill Board Director vacancy

On April 3, 2026, the OPTN Board voted to appoint Steven Weitzen, J.D., as a Board Director, filling the vacancy created by the passing of Peter Nicastro. 

Steven’s appointment will cover the remainder of Peter Nicastro’s term, ending on June 30, 2029.

One-Year extension of Board President and Vice President terms

The Board considered and approved one-year term extensions for the Board President and Vice President to maintain leadership continuity during this period of significant organizational change. The current operational environment constitutes “exceptional circumstances,” as required by the OPTN Bylaws to justify term extensions.

Key rationales for the extension included:

• Ongoing OPTN modernization efforts are in their beginning phases.
• Recent disruptions, including contractor transitions and funding interruptions, have impacted the Board’s ability to move initiatives forward.
• There is a need for continuity in relationships with HRSA and partner organizations.
• There is complexity in ongoing policy and bylaw development.

Other actions

The Board took additional action as follows:

• Approved summaries from the Board meetings held on February 19 and March 19, 2026.
• Approved recommended Membership & Professional Standards Committee (MPSC) Membership Status Changes (See Exhibit A), as follows:
  • Fully approved
    • 2 new programs
    • 2 new laboratories
    • 3 new business members
    • 9 reactivations
    • 4 membership renewals
    • 1 individual application
    • 1 individual application renewal
    • 1 conditional extension request
    • 1 inactivation extension request
    • 3 conditional approvals moving to full approvals
    • 2 program status change from full to conditional
  • Approved a resolution clarifying that certain required roles for liver transplant programs fall within the OPTN Key Personnel framework. Specifically, the resolution:
    • Designates the Director of Liver Transplant Anesthesia as Key Personnel
    • Clarifies that the two qualified surgeons required for programs performing living donor liver recovery are considered Primary Liver Surgeons for the Living Donor Component (Key Personnel)

Discussion items

The Board heard and discussed status updates on AOOS workgroup activities and updates on policy alignment, stakeholder engagement, and governance activities including:

• Updates from the AOOS workgroup:
  • The AOOS Offer team developed a standardized analytic definition of an organ offer to address longstanding inconsistencies in how offers are recorded. Previously, only transplanted organs were consistently tracked, limiting visibility into allocation practices. The new definition establishes clear criteria and requires electronic documentation, enabling more complete data capture, improved auditability, and stronger compliance monitoring across all allocation activity.
  • The AOOS Expedited Placement Policy (EPP) team introduced criteria to identify kidneys that may require expedited allocation due to clinical or logistical challenges. By separating these organs from standard allocation processes, the approach aims to reduce delays, improve placement efficiency, and allow more accurate identification of out-of-sequence events. While it is currently focused on kidneys, the framework may serve as a model for other organ systems.
  • The AOOS Compliance team developed a framework to monitor AOOS activity, including mechanisms for auditing, identifying patterns of non-compliance, and supporting program improvement. The workgroup also reviewed international models as potential long-term enhancements, though many would require significant technological investment.
• Updates on policy alignment, stakeholder engagement, and governance activities:
  • The OPTN President reinforced the discontinuation of COVID-era flexibilities in donor screening, emphasizing that programs must now operate fully within standard OPTN policy following the end of the public health emergency. To support compliance and improve consistency, a new workgroup will focus on clarifying appropriate use of inactive status and standardizing data entry practices, including the potential use of front-end validation checks.
  • To ensure consistent communication during the current transition period, the OPTN will hold national town halls on April 28 and May 13, 2026, in place of the spring/summer regional meetings. These sessions are intended to provide system-wide updates, facilitate engagement with HRSA, and allow for structured stakeholder feedback.
  • The OPTN President reviewed upcoming election activities, including the May 2026 national elections and associated ad hoc Board meetings to approve the slate of candidates and ratify election results. He stated that these actions support continuity in leadership and governance during a period of ongoing organizational change.

Exhibit A. Board-approved OPTN member status changes

Approved on April 3, 2026, at ad coc Board of Directors meeting

Approved on April 16, 2026, at Board of Directors Meeting