Washington DC — House Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) delivered the following opening remarks at today's meeting. hearing The title is “One Year Delete: Monitoring Ensuring Enforcement of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplant Network Act.''
Current status of organ procurement and transplantation
“Today's hearing is an opportunity to examine the national organ procurement system and monitor implementation of the Securing America's Organ Procurement and Transplant Network Act.
“The current state of organ transplantation in our country is inadequate and needs to be addressed.
“More than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, and approximately 17 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant.
“Despite the need for viable organs, one study shows that more than 28,000 viable organs are not recovered each year. We must do better.
“In 1984, the National Organ Transplant Act was signed into law, establishing a national framework for organ transplants.
“This bill establishes the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN), a public-private partnership to implement and oversee the organ donation and transplant system.
“Currently, the only contractor in charge of operating OPTN is United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which has been the sole contractor since 1986. There were countless problems.”
Strict monitoring of organ transplants
“While UNOS has provided valuable services to organ transplant patients, there have been many instances where its operations have been inefficient.
“I think this is mainly because they have exclusivity.
“There are also questions about potential conflicts of interest. For example, due to regulations of some government agencies, some members of the UNOS board are also members of the OPTN board.
“Just to be clear, this is a watchdog organization that oversees the organ transplant system.
“According to a report from the Senate Finance Committee, between 2010 and 2020, more than 1,100 complaints were filed by patients, families, transplant centers, and others regarding the organ transplant system.
“These inefficiencies are due to lack of oversight and control of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs).
“OPO is responsible for procuring organs for transplantation and is supervised by UNOS.
“Many cases have been reported where transport failures have resulted in organs not being viable or transplant operations having to be canceled.
“In 2018, a human heart was left behind on a passenger plane.
“Another amazing story is that in 2020, a kidney was accidentally thrown in the trash by OPO staff, rendering it unusable.
“Currently, there are 56 active OPOs in the United States.The current system we have in place is a patchwork of OPOs, and we must rely on commercial couriers and airlines to transport organs. yeah.
“If we can track every step of an Amazon sock order, we can track something as precious as human organs.
“To create a more stable and reliable system, we need to address the lack of accountability.
“There have been other failures that demonstrate the need for a complete overhaul of how the organ transplant system operates.”
Modernizing the organ transplant system
“That’s what prompted HR 2544. Securing the United States Organ Procurement and Transplant Network ActLed by Energy and Commerce Members Dr. Buchshon and Mrs. Kelly, it was signed into law in 2023 and passed unanimously in this committee and in both chambers of Congress.
“This bill allows multiple entities to bid on certain contracts for functions such as logistics and health IT within organ transplant networks.
“This will allow companies with expertise in specific areas to competitively bid for contracts and end UNOS's monopoly on the organ transplant process.
“This bill also ensures accountability by creating an independent commission within the transplant system.
“Within Health and Human Services, we have the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which houses the entire organ transplant system. They will have the authority to modernize the organ transplant system.
“It is Congress's job to ensure that HRSA can successfully implement this law so that similar mistakes in the past do not occur.
“Proper implementation is essential to save lives.
“In addition to modernizing the organ transplant system, HHS and Congress must be willing to approve new and innovative solutions to address the organ shortages we face. yeah.
“For example, in my district alone, there is a company that is developing genetically modified organs from pigs that can be transplanted into humans.
“And Virginia Tech, in partnership with doctors in my district, has developed an innovative technology that can resuscitate the organs of trauma patients and keep them viable for long periods of time.
“We are hopeful that we are moving in the right direction to reduce failures in the current organ transplant system, but more needs to be done.
“Congress will ensure that this new law is effectively implemented and that the same mistakes are not made again.”
