October 7, 2021

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.

Dear Rep. Blunt Rochester:

On behalf of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO), I am pleased to inform you that AOPO fully endorses the Coordination, Accountability, Research and Equity (CARE) for All Kidneys Act of 2021.

AOPO is a non-profit association with membership from forty-eight federally designated OPOs, serving more than 300 million Americans. As a professional organization, AOPO is saving and improving lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation, by leading the nation’s donation process through innovation, advocacy, and education.

OPO clinicians interact every day with the families of potential organ donors and the hospital personnel attending to them. It is through these face-to-face interactions that OPOs across the country are able to gain approval to move forward with donations and maintain the organ transplant system in the United States as the best in the world.

Your legislation will improve kidney disease research, prevention, surveillance and treatment in minority populations, as well as rural and underserved communities, and help increase kidney transplants in these populations. One of the key pillars of the recently announced AOPO 50,000 Transplants by 2026 initiative is to address issues of equity in the transplant and donation process. AOPO is committed to making health equity a priority and to improve 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 we can substantially increase the number of organ donations and lifesaving transplants and reduce the number of people on the transplant waiting list.

We are pleased to endorse H.R. 3893 and look forward to working with you to improve the organ donation and transplant system to save more lives.

Sincerely,

Jan Finn
President, AOPO