Modernization Updates

Building a Better Transplant System

February 2026 Update

OPTN Modernization is a comprehensive effort to strengthen the nation’s organ donation, procurement, and transplant system through increased transparency, accountability, competition, and innovation. Through modernization, HRSA aims to reform governance, enhance technology infrastructure, and improve oversight to better serve patients, donors, and transplant professionals. Modernization efforts focus on updating longstanding systems and policies to ensure they align with current clinical practices and public health needs. Ultimately, OPTN Modernization seeks to improve patient outcomes across the transplant system.

Key Developments This Month

  • New call line answered more than 300 calls in first month: Patients and families can now get donation and transplantation information and support in English, Spanish, and other languages through OPTN 411.
  • Expanded financial help for living donors: New legislation removes income restrictions, making assistance available to more donors.
  • OPTN adding 144 volunteers to shape policy development: Volunteer interest forms are now available for patients, families, and professionals to serve on OPTN policy committees.
  • Revised public comment process: Future public comment opportunities will allow comment submission via the OPTN website.
  • HRSA launches Transplant Data Services (TDS): New government-managed platform to improve data collection, management, and sharing.
  • New Ventilated Patient Form (VPF): Improved form allows increased visibility in patients referred to organ procurement organizations (OPOs).
  • Registration fee collection: HRSA will begin publishing quarterly public reports later this year identifying transplant centers and the associated registration fee amounts submitted.

For Patients, Families, and the Public

New Support Line Makes Help Easier to Find

OPTN 411, which launched at the end of December, serves as a single point of contact for patients, families, and the public on questions regarding organ donation, procurement and transplantation.

Since launching, OPTN 411 has responded to more than 300 calls on topics such as waitlist information and status, assistance with finding transplant centers, general questions about the donation and transplant process, and membership inquiries.

OPTN 411 offers services in English and Spanish and supports additional languages through interpretation services.

  • Why this matters: Whether you're a patient trying to understand your options or a family member seeking information, OPTN 411 provides a clear entry point for support. Call 1-888-OPTN-411.

More Financial Help Available for Living Donors

New legislation (HR 7148) just expanded eligibility for living organ donors who need financial assistance. The Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program (LODRP) helps cover non-medical expenses like lost wages, childcare, and travel costs during evaluation, surgery, and recovery.

  • What changed: Previously, donors couldn't get help if their recipient's income was above a certain level. That restriction has been removed.
  • Why it matters: More living donors can now get the financial support they need, potentially helping more patients receive transplants from living donors.

Over the coming months, HRSA will work with the National Living Donor Assistance Center and Health Literacy Media to implement the new rules and educate patients, transplant professionals, and the broader public about how to access this support.

OPTN Looking to Fill 144 Committee Positions

The OPTN is looking for volunteers to serve on committees that shape national policy. OPTN committees consist of patients, donor families, doctors, nurses, coordinators, and community members, ultimately ensuring that a wide range of perspectives guide the system.

While some committee activities are temporarily paused as HRSA transitions committee support to a new contractor, all critical OPTN functions, including patient safety, compliance monitoring, and data operations, remain fully operational. This pause ensures that when committees reconvene, they will be supported by a stable and sustainable operational structure.

To prepare for that transition, the OPTN has opened a call for nominations to fill 144 committee positions across all OPTN committees.

If you submitted a form on or after February 1, 2025, and want to be considered for current openings, contact OPTNBoardSupport@air.org.

Simpler Public Comment Process

The OPTN recently completed a public comment period on two important policy proposals:

  1. Donation after circulatory death (DCD): Improving safeguards for patients in the DCD organ donation pathway and better information sharing with families.
  2. Rabies screening and data collection: Strengthening protections to reduce risk of donor-derived infections through enhanced reporting and monitoring.

The comment period ran from December 19, 2025, through January 18, 2026. Notices were distributed through three email notifications reaching more than 86,000 individuals. Engagement was strong, with 93 comments submitted on the DCD proposal and 27 comments on the rabies proposal.

  • What's changing: Based on feedback, public comments will now be submitted directly through the OPTN website (not by email). Comments will be reviewed for personal information and inappropriate language, then posted online more quickly.
  • Why it matters: This creates faster more transparent public input on policies that affect patients. All comments are shared with relevant OPTN workgroups and committees as they develop final policy recommendations.

Stronger Oversight for Increased Transparency and Accountability

New Centralized Data Platform Launches

HRSA launched Transplant Data Services (TDS), which is a new, centralized platform designed to strengthen how organ procurement and transplant data are collected, managed, and shared.

Before TDS, the OPTN and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) data were maintained in separate systems. That fragmentation creates confusion, duplicate work, and sometimes conflicting numbers for healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers. TDS brings this information into a single, secure system.

  • Why it matters: A unified data system means clearer information and stronger oversight. TDS will provide consistent, reliable data for OPTN members and the public, reduce duplication and administrative burden, support standardized reporting and performance monitoring, and improve transparency while strengthening federal oversight.

Hospitals, OPOs, researchers, and federal partners will have access to standardized data and tools to monitor performance, answer questions from patients and families, and inform policy decisions. By modernizing how transplant data are managed, TDS helps build a more transparent, accountable, and patient-centered transplant system.

Closing Blind Spots: Better Tracking of Potential Donors

Last December, the Office of Management and Budget approved a new Ventilated Patient Form (VPF) (XLSX - 24 KB) (and accompanying instructions (PDF - 159 KB)) that tracks every potential donor referral from start to finish. This addresses a critical gap: previously, the system didn't have complete visibility into which patients were referred to OPOs and what happened with those referrals.

  • How it works: When a hospital identifies a patient who might be a potential organ donor, they refer the patient to the local OPO. The VPF captures comprehensive data about these referrals, helping identify where organ donation opportunities might be missed and ensuring OPOs provide safe, effective care to potential organ donor patients.
  • Reducing reporting burden: To make this easier for OPOs, HRSA is working with major electronic medical record vendors to build automated connections. Instead of manual data entry, information flows directly from OPO systems into TDS through application programming interfaces (APIs).

Mid-America Transplant served as the first OPO to create and test a direct API connection for the full VPF dataset. Additional testing with Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency and Life Connection of Ohio has refined the technical specifications. With automated data flows in place, HRSA anticipates all OPOs will be submitting VPF data using the new form by fall 2026.

After initial approval, OPOs identified opportunities to further clarify two response fields: Case Disposition and Hospital Interference. HRSA convened representatives from eight OPOs to draft standardized definitions (XLSX - 384 KB), and broader feedback from the OPO community is now being collected to ensure consistent interpretation.

10 Years of Performance Data Now Accessible

Transparency requires access to historical performance information. Previously, obtaining archived OPO performance reports was difficult, often requiring individual requests to the SRTR contractor.

HRSA directed that 10 years of historical OPO performance reports be made publicly accessible through a single link, organized by OPO for easy navigation. Historical reports for each OPO are also available for download from individual OPO Overview pages.

  • Why it matters: Patients, researchers, and policymakers can now easily access this data. This transparency helps everyone understand how the system is performing and supports important processes like OPO service area competition.

Smarter Compliance Oversight

The OPTN and HRSA are changing how allocation reviews work. Previously, monthly allocation reviews frequently required additional follow-up with OPOs but didn't consistently lead to meaningful compliance improvements.

  • What changed: New automated tools like the AOOS Dashboard and OPO Compliance Reports now provide more effective oversight.
  • Why it matters: These tools are expected to reduce ad hoc follow-up requests while improving focus on actionable findings, helping ensure organs go to the right patients at the right time.

Planning for Future Contract Support

To support OPTN modernization, HRSA issued two requests for information (RFIs) that will inform future contract solicitations by refining requirements and understanding vendor capabilities:

  1. Committee and Membership Support: Seeks information on providing operational and administrative support to OPTN committees, subcommittees, workgroups, and ad hoc groups, particularly those focused on patient safety and membership functions.
  2. Policy Process Support: Seeks information on support for the OPTN policy development process, including maintenance and updates to existing OPTN policies, as well as coordination and support for OPTN committees involved in policy work.
  • What OPTN members need to know: HRSA has awarded the OPTN Meeting and Logistics Support task order to Guidehouse to manage planning, coordination, and travel logistics for OPTN meetings. Once onboarded, Guidehouse will partner with HRSA, the OPTN Board, and other contractors to ensure smooth, efficient meeting operations.

Operational Updates for OPTN Members

New Secure Platform for OPTN Governance

HRSA recently launched OPTN 360, a secure, centralized collaboration platform for OPTN governance activities. The platform supports the Board of Directors, committees, and advisory groups through dedicated OPTN email addresses and integrated Microsoft 365 tools.

  • Why this matters: This transition strengthens operational independence, improves records management, supports more efficient collaboration and policymaking, and enhances long-term sustainability.
  • What OPTN members need to know: The Membership & Professional Standards Committee (MPSC) is the first group to onboard, with additional committees following shortly.

Membership Applications and Administrative Changes

As of December 29, 2025, the OPTN entered a bridge period during which HRSA is acting as operational steward of membership actions, including supporting MPSC processing of membership applications received through the Member Compliance Portal. Applications are reviewed for completeness before being forwarded to the Membership & Professional Standards Committee.

  • What members need to know: Members will receive notifications at key stages – subcommittee review, committee review, interim approval, and final approval. Administrative requests, such as representative updates, personnel changes, and site administrator requests, do not require MPSC review and are processed within a few business days.

Updated guidance on submitting membership applications is available on the OPTN Membership page.

Registration Fee Collection Update

The new federal funding bill (HR 7148) extends HRSA's authority to collect OPTN patient registration fees, originally granted in the 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act. This authority enables registration fees to fund multiple OPTN operations contracts while strengthening fiscal transparency and oversight.

HRSA continues implementing a secure federal billing process aligned with federal financial standards.

  • Current status: For September, October, and November, HRSA has only received about 73 percent of total fees due.
  • What members need to know: As required by statute, HRSA will begin publishing quarterly public reports in 2026 identifying transplant centers and associated registration fee amounts submitted.

HRSA will continue proactive outreach to transplant centers to support timely fee submissions and confirm payment status before public reporting begins.

Engaging the Transplant Community

HRSA continues direct engagement with the transplant community to provide modernization updates. Recent presentations include:

  • Organ Donation and Transplant Alliance Webinar (January 9, 2026)
  • American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) Winter Symposium (January 22, 2026)
  • Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) Leadership Meeting (January 26, 2026)

Moving Forward Together

Modernization isn't a single milestone; it's a sustained commitment to continuous improvement. From making help easier to find through OPTN 411, to closing data blind spots that could cost lives, to expanding financial assistance for living donors, each step builds a stronger foundation.

The work ahead requires collaboration. HRSA remains committed to working with patients, donor families, healthcare professionals, OPOs, and community partners to ensure the system evolves in ways that promote access, safety, efficiency, and long-term public trust.

For questions or support, contact OPTN 411 or visit the OPTN website for the latest information on policies, committees, and updates.

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