On September 22, 2023, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill into law that overhauls our country’s organ transplant system by increasing competition among contractors—and paving the way for additional funding.
The new law will “break up the current monopoly system” that for nearly four decades allowed a single private nonprofit to be the sole contractor managing the country’s Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday.
“Everybody knows the system has been broken for years, with heartbreaking consequences,” she said in reference to the more than 100,000 Americans awaiting a transplant at any given time. “Now, with the president’s signature, we are taking significant steps to improve it.”
The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act stems from rising criticism of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the OPTN from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. In 2022, the Senate Finance Committee issued a report and convened multiple hearings focusing on the various “failures” of the system that led to long waits and deaths.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chair of that committee and one of the act’s sponsors, said in a statement. “For too long, thousands of families have had to watch a loved one struggle while waiting for an organ transplant because the system has been inefficient and unaccountable. With this law, that starts to change. There is going to be accountability, know-how, and improvements so more Americans are connected with a life-saving transplant.”
UNOS, the sole nonprofit that has been managing the network, coordinating transplants and procurements and monitoring patient safety, has previously said that it welcomed any plans to reform the national system. The group on Friday said it does “not oppose this legislation” and reiterated its support of “a more competitive and open bidding process” in statements to reporters.
Read more here: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/biden-signs-bill-introducing-more-competition-us-organ-transplant-network