Increase Organ Donation in
the United States
July 12, 1998
Date posted on the Web: July
27, 1998
The Honorable Thomas A. Daschle
U.S. Senate
509 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Daschle:
As the Presidents of The American
Society of Transplant Physicians (ASTP), the American Society
of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), and the Association of Organ
Procurement Organizations (AOPO), we are writing to express
our strong support for efforts to increase organ donation
in the United States. As we all know, increased donation
is the real answer to dealing with the dilemma of allocating
and distributing an inadequate supply of organs. In an
effort to increase hope and save lives, the ASTP ASTS and
AOPO urge you to support the Health Care Financing Administration's
(HCFA) recent final rule, issued on June 22, 1998, requiring
new conditions of participation (COP) for the 5,200 short-stay
hospitals participating in the Medicare program. Under
the new rule, these hospitals would be required to report
all deaths to their local organ procurement organization
(OPO).
The new Medicare
rule would dramatically increase the availability of organs
and tissues
for transplantation. By requiring a single telephone call
from a hospital to an OPO, this new Medicare rule will
significantly improve organ donation and provide a greater
opportunity to the more than 56,000 patients currently
awaiting a solid organ transplant in the United States.
Despite the positive impact that this rule would have in
expanding and delivering the "gift-of-life" -
there are current efforts in Congress to delay and prevent
this important initiative from moving forward. During the
recent markup of the FY 1999 Labor, Health and Human Services
Appropriations bill, an amendment was attached which seeks
to delay the implementation of this new policy. We believe
that such an effort is potentially a dangerous "step-backward" for
both patients and the transplant professional community.
From the standpoint
of "regulatory
burden," these new regulations would have minimal
impact. Many hospitals already participate in voluntary,
routine referral programs with their local OPO and/or tissue
bank. In addition, numerous states (e.g., PA, NY, NJ, NC)
already have requirements similar to the new Medicare policy.
Experience from states which already have this requirement
indicate that routine referral does make a difference.
Fewer potential donors are missed and, equally important,
the use of expert requestors (whether OPO staff or specially
trained hospital staff) provides families with the complete
information they need to decide about donation.
To increase
the supply of organs and thus reduce the number of patients
on waiting lists
for transplants, we urge you to reject any amendments to
FY 1999 appropriations bills and/or freestanding legislation
which seeks to delay the new Medicare conditions of participation
rule. In addition, we ask that you support the current
rule as an important step forward to save the thousands
of Americans desperately in need of the "gift-of-life."
We respectfully thank you for
your consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
John F. Neylan, MD
President, ASTP
Joshua Miller, M.D.
President, ASTS
Richard Luskin
President, AOPO
