The first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation, created by former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala to provide outside advice on organ allocation issues, will be held May 1st and 2nd in Alexandria, Virginia.

During the meeting, members of the Advisory Committee will focus on the proposed new formula developed by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which administers the nation's transplant network, for more precisely ranking the medical urgency of patients waiting for liver transplants.

The new formula would replace the current prioritization system, which divides patients into four categories -- Status 1, 2A, 2B and 3. While Status 1 patients, those patients doctors believe would die within a week without a liver transplant, would continue to receive top priority for transplants, all other patients would be given a precise numerical score based on medical test results and would be prioritized for transplantation on a continuous numerical scale.

During the second day of the meeting, the Advisory Committee will also discuss current UNOS allocation policies for hearts, lungs, kidneys and pancreases, and vote on whether changes are necessary for these organs as well.

Time is allocated during the meeting for public comment on the various organ allocation policies.