The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) hosted two 90-minute virtual National Town Hall meetings on April 28 and May 13, 2026. These sessions provided a transparent, high-level update on OPTN priorities and ongoing modernization efforts to strengthen the transplant system and improve patient outcomes.
These town halls, which provided the same information in both sessions, replaced the 2026 spring/summer regional meetings, offering a more accessible, nationwide forum for information sharing and discussion.
Topics of discussion
Modernization, transparency & public engagement
The objective of OPTN modernization is to strengthen accountability, transparency, operational resilience, and public confidence while maintaining continuity of national system operations during the transition. HRSA continues to oversee core operational activities while implementing a new multivendor contracting model.
The OPTN website is updated frequently. Meeting summaries from the open sessions of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership and Professional Standards Committee (MPSC) are available on the site. (Since November 2025, all the MPSC meetings have been held in closed session. Therefore, meeting summaries are not available to the public.)
Additionally, stakeholders can engage with the OPTN through a variety of channels:
- Public comment on proposed policies
- Publicly available meeting materials
- OPTN Modernization newsletter
- OPTN Contact Channels: OPTN411@hrsa.gov; OPTNWeb@hrsa.gov; OPTNMemberCompliance@hrsa.gov; OPTNComplaints@hrsa.gov
Federal contracting & transition
HRSA is the contracting authority for the organizations supporting the OPTN. As such, HRSA is the only entity that can direct the actions of the contractors. Therefore, if situations arise where contractors disagree or gaps emerge between their scope of work, HRSA will be responsible for resolving any issues. See a list of current vendors supporting the OPTN.
HRSA continues to solicit and award vendor contracts to support the work of the OPTN. Consistent with federal procurement requirements, HRSA cannot comment on active acquisitions or potential contract awards beyond publicly available information until awards are announced.
OPTN committees
The OPTN continues to prioritize activities that are essential to patient safety and critical system operations. Committees are activated as needed to address these priorities, with support from HRSA and the appropriate OPTN contractor(s).
Applicants who have volunteered to serve on a committee receive committee selection notifications in accordance with the published appointment schedule. Committee terms and extension requests follow OPTN Management and Membership Policy. Individuals interested in seeking an extension should contact OPTN Board Support.
Broader committee work and policy development are expected to resume once the committee support contract is awarded. At that time, the OPTN Board will establish priorities and timelines for this work.
There are currently no plans to reduce the number of committees. Decisions regarding future regional meetings have not yet been made.
Finance & registration fees
OPTN patient registration fees are assessed when transplant hospitals register candidates on the national transplant waiting list. These fees help support the operation of the OPTN. Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are not assessed patient registration fees because they do not register patients for the waiting list.
Current payment options reflect federal payment system capabilities. At this time, Pay.gov does not allow for credit card transactions exceeding $24,999, and HRSA is not aware of any planned changes to that limit. For centers whose invoices regularly exceed $24,999, HRSA offers three other payment methods: ACH credit (Credit Gateway); wire transfer (Fedwire); and ACH debit through the Pay.gov portal.
Questions about Medicare reimbursement should be directed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
OPTN Finance Committee meetings are held in closed session. Recommended priorities and proposed policy projects are reviewed, discussed, and voted on by the OPTN Board. Board meetings are held in open session, unless otherwise noted, and are available for public viewing via live stream.
OPTN policies
The FY 2026 projects identified as pending Board approval on slide 31 of the Town Hall presentation represent the full set of policy proposals that have successfully completed the required stages of the OPTN policy development process and are ready for consideration by the OPTN Board of Directors. This includes completion of committee review, public comment (when applicable), proposal refinement, and final committee endorsement for Board action.
Projects that are not included on slide 31 are still progressing through the policy development process and have not yet been presented to the Board for review or consideration. As such, they are not currently eligible for implementation planning.
Following Board review, the Board of Directors will determine whether each FY 2026 proposal should be approved for implementation. Only those projects that receive Board approval will move forward into implementation, where operational planning, member communications, system updates, and educational activities will be completed before the policy becomes effective.