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AOPO Hosts OPOs in DC and Phoenix to Improve the Organ Donation and Transplantation System

McLean, VA. (May 23, 2022) – Last week was the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations’ (AOPO) Advocacy Day. Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) gathered in Washington, D.C. to meet with Members of Congress and provide education on the importance of system-wide changes to the organ donation and transplantation system. This, combined with AOPO’s Annual Meeting next month in Phoenix, AZ, are opportunities to collaborate as a community and with other stakeholders to identify ways to increase organ donation. Much of AOPO’s effort surrounds their 50,000 Annual Organ Transplants in 2026 Campaign and its close alignment with the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) “Realizing the Promise of Equity in the Organ Transplantation System” report.

“OPO representatives descended onto Capitol Hill to meet with legislators and their staff to discuss the recommendations in the NASEM report and urge Members of Congress to sign a Congressional letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adopt standardized metrics and establish national performance goals to improve donation and transplantation rates among minority and disadvantaged populations,” says Jan Finn, RN, MSN; AOPO President; and President and CEO, Midwest Transplant Network. “In addition, we encouraged Congress to support modernizing the organ IT infrastructure and better engage patients in their own care decisions. We also emphasized the need to reduce the number of organs recovered but not accepted for transplant, increase the number of organs procured from medically complex donors, and increase the number of transplants to at least 50,000 in 2026.”

In addition, AOPO members raised the following issues:

Organ Preservation Solution Shortage

For much of the last year, OPOs have been grappling with shortages in the supply of certain liquid solutions that are utilized within organ perfusion and preservation devices. These solutions are critical to maintaining organ viability throughout transport and storage. AOPO has been working closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide real-time data on the impact of these solution shortages and urge the identification of alternative supply sources and other mitigation measures.

CMS Learning Collaborative

AOPO is also a participant in the End Stage Renal Disease Treatment Choices Learning Collaborative (ETCLC), a CMS-led effort to focus on improving donation authorization, organ utilization and allocation, the use of modern technology throughout the donation process, and addressing racial disparities in organ donation and transplantation. The ETCLC is pressing for additional action and adoption of best practices in each of these critical strategic areas and is highly aligned with the recommendations included in the NASEM report. AOPO has requested language in the Labor/Health and Human Services (HHS)/Education Appropriations Committee Report that calls out the excellent work of the ETCLC and asks HHS to aggressively promote its recommendations as well as those in the NASEM report.

CARE for All Kidneys Act

We requested House members to co-sponsor the CARE for All Kidneys Act, which creates a national action plan that brings together key stakeholders, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to address health disparities in kidney disease. The bill would support initiatives such as expanding ongoing kidney disease research and addressing lower kidney transplantation rates in underserved communities. AOPO is committed to making health equity a priority and improving the accessibility of organ transplants in underserved communities. By addressing health inequity, collaborating with all stakeholders, maximizing organ utilization by transplant programs, and driving innovation, AOPO is confident it can substantially increase the number of organ donations and life-saving transplants and reduce the number of people on the transplant waiting list.

Following Advocacy Day, AOPO is hosting its Annual Meeting in June which is a critical opportunity for OPOs to gather as a community to share information and learn about new technologies and techniques that help OPOs continually improve to save more lives.

“With our meeting theme this year ‘On Our Way to 50K in 2026,’. sessions will be focused on the most important successful practices OPOs will need to know and implement as our campaign deadline of 2026 moves closer,” explains Steve Miller, AOPO CEO. “Attendees will be able to dive deeper into the NASEM report and hear how OPOs are preparing to implement the recommendations. They will hear from industry partners about new innovations which will help OPOs be more efficient and learn how donor care units can better serve donors and families, increase cost effectiveness, and foster advancement in organ rehabilitation and donor intervention research. Collaboration like this leads to results.”

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The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) is the not-for-profit trade association leading the nation’s organ donation community to save and improve lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Founded in 1984, AOPO advances organ donation and transplantation by driving continual improvement of the donation process, collaborating with stakeholders, and sharing successful practices with their OPO members. The vision of AOPO is to pursue the day when every donation opportunity results in lives saved. For more information, please visit www.aopo.org.