Proposal Overview
Status: Committee Review
Sponsoring Committee: Kidney Transplantation
Strategic Goal: Increase the number of transplants
Problem statement
Demand for kidneys far exceeds supply. As of July 2017, approximately 97,000 candidates are registered
on the OPTN Wait List for a deceased donor kidney. Kidney paired exchange chains have potential for
greatly increasing the number of transplants in the nation.
A study published in 2013 found that a non-directed donor triggers 4.8 transplants on average and 6 if the non-directed donor is a blood type O1. Although KPD chains may ultimately end in donation to the waitlist, deceased donor kidneys are currently not used to begin chains. Using deceased donor kidneys to initiate KPD chains could greatly expand the number of transplants overall as each deceased donor kidney could unlock multiple transplant
opportunities.
Deceased donor-initiated chains may also better utilize kidneys to maximize the potential of
KPD donors and deceased donors to increase the overall number of transplants.
Background
Read the full proposal (PDF - 977 KB)
Feedback requested
Are there other methods for using deceased donor kidneys to initiate KPD chains that the workgroup should consider?
How can policy be developed so as to protect vulnerable or disadvantaged populations (e.g. blood type O, pediatrics, minority populations, etc.)?
Should policy apply to all KPD programs nationwide, or be more limited in scope?
Should policy solutions be tested in the form of a variance or pilot?
General feedback as desired