News
August 4, 2023
Congress Overhauls Organ Transplant System
Last week, Congress approved a bill overhauling the organ transplant system. For nearly 40 years, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a non-profit organization, held the federal contract to operate the system and relied on a 1984 law which blocked nearly all competition. This bill, passed unanimously in the Senate, allows the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to break up this monopoly and to solicit bids from other organizations. UNOS has faced significant criticism due to performance issues such as damaged and discarded organs, years-long waits for organs and outdated organ-matching technologies leading to patient deaths, as well as a lack of accountability and oversight. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.