UNOS Creates New Certification Program for Living-Donor Transplants

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which certifies the transplant programs of the more than 250 U.S. transplant centers, has decided to create a special certification program for living-donor kidney and living-donor liver transplant programs.

Until now, the need for UNOS certification has largely rested on the organization's role in operating the nation's cadaver organ allocation network. Membership in UNOS is a prerequisite to a hospital receiving cadaver organs for patients in need of a transplant. As a result, every transplant hospital in the United States is a UNOS member.

But the UNOS Board of Directors, with the number of living donor kidney transplants soaring and controversy lingering over the degree of risk involved for donors of a potion of their liver, said it has now decided to create an additional certification progress for programs that perform living-donor transplants.

"To receive certification, programs must demonstrate that they have surgical staff with defined experience in living-donor procedures," UNOS said in a statement.

The board also adopted a series of actions to more fully assess and report the medical risks associated with living organ donation.

UNOS approved refinements to forms used to collect medical followup data on living donors, and Dr. Andrew Klein, chair of the Living Donor Committee, said information derived from the data will "help quantify what the risks are and what patients can expect."

The board also recommended that each potential living donor undergo a psychosocial evaluation to ensure full understanding and agreement to the living donation process.

Other Sources: UNOS