Advocates from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) are at the Capitol in Washington DC (USA) today urging the US Congress to implement reforms that, they say in a press release, “will help maximise access to transplant care for the 37 million Americans living with kidney diseases”, which they describe as the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.
“The ASN is grateful that Congress and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) are leading reforms to modernise the US transplant system that will help more people receive a life-saving transplant, said ASN president Michelle A Josephson (University of Chicago, Chicago, USA). “Through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Modernization Initiative and the supporting Securing the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act, bipartisan policy makers are modernising the transplant system’s underlying technology and policy infrastructure, enabling significant future advancements to maximise patients’ access to kidney transplantation.”
The Initiative and Act, the organisation says, will increase the “efficiency and equity of our nation’s transplant ecosystem” by establishing transparency to improve access to transplant and reduce barriers in the kidney health ecosystem. They will also improve accountability in the management of the transplant system by ensuring government overseers and contractors have separate governance boards.
The press release further adds that the legislation will increase competition and will aid the adoption modern technology by allowing the federal government to consider new bidders for key transplant infrastructure functions.
“Our nation’s kidney health ecosystem has made important strides in recent years, but crucial opportunities for improvement in transplantation remain—and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization Initiative puts us on the path to achieving them” said Roslyn B Mannon (University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA), chair of the ASN Policy and Advocacy Committee.
On 21 July, the HRSA is poised to hold an Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Industry Day, where administration officials will hear feedback on and discuss early details of the Modernization Initiative from stakeholders across the transplant system. ASN says that it is “committed to maximising access to transplant care” as the optimal therapy for people living with kidney failure, including championing the Securing the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act and collaborating with HRSA and other stakeholders to shape the implementation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernisation Initiative to ensure it fulfils its potential.
