The Issue

The demand for transplantable organs in the United States has long outpaced the supply. Right now, more than 16,000 people across the country are waiting for liver transplants.

Unfortunately, the nation’s organ allocation system continues to make an already dire situation worse by creating geographic disparities in access to organs for transplant: people living in some parts of the country wait far longer and are sicker when they receive an organ than those in other parts of the country.
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​Consequently, hundreds of Americans needlessly die every year while waiting for organs.

About CODE

The Coalition for Organ Distribution Equity (CODE) is a collection of stakeholders and patients committed to improving patient access to organs for transplant. Consistent with the models examined by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in its concept paper Redesigning Liver Distribution to Reduce Variation in Access to Liver Transplantation, CODE advances policies that reduce geographic disparities in wait times, patient acuity at time of transplant and organ failure-related deaths. Inherent in this endeavor is the need to increase public and policymaker awareness regarding the current process governing organ distribution, its flaws and how reforms can improve patient outcomes nationwide.

What's Next?

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)/United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Liver and Intestinal Organ Transplantation Committee voted to adopt a policy in December 2017 that failed to meaningfully improve existing geographic disparities in organ allocation. In response, six patients from California, Massachusetts, and New York filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services for failing to implement a liver allocation policy that complies with the National Organ Transplant Act. Also, Congressman Eliot Engel and David Valadao have introduced legislation to help ensure patients nationwide get access to life-saving organs based on their medical need, not arbitrary geographic boundaries.