White House gets major commitments on organ transplants, donations

The U.S Defense Department said it would invest nearly $200 million in next-generation technologies and research to repair and replace cells and tissues that can dramatically increase the time organs can be stored and improve the quality of organs transplanted.

The White House Organ Summit Monday in Washington brought hopeful news to the more than 120,000 Americans awaiting organ transplants.

The summit brought together leaders from social media, technology firms, organ transplant advocacy organizations, universities and government agencies to announce collaborations aimed at decreasing that waiting list, which grows by 3,000 each month. The summit also explored ways to close the gap between the 95 percent of Americans who support organ donations and the 50 percent who are actually registered donors.

Kidney patients account for more than 80 percent of patients on that waiting list. Jeffrey Zients, President Obama’s economic advisor, said patients with end-stage renal disease cost Medicare more than $34 billion annually. Zients pointed out that every patient who receives a kidney transplant saves Medicare $60,000 per year and increases his or her life expectancy by 10 to 15 years.

Zients quoted a statement from Obama, saying: “We must all do our part to lift up donors, donor families and patients by supporting efforts to shorten the donor waiting list. Together we can improve and save lives by celebrating those who give of themselves, whether as living or registered donors, to provide the greatest gift there is to offer.”

The U.S Defense Department said it would invest nearly $200 million in next-generation technologies and research to repair and replace cells and tissues that can dramatically increase the time organs can be stored and improve the quality of organs transplanted.

The immediate goal is to increase the number of organ transplants by almost 2,000 annually, while expanding options for those in need of transplants. University researchers also committed to invest in clinical research and innovation.

The American Society of Nephrology, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation all announced multimillion-dollar commitments to organ donor-related ventures.

Johns Hopkins University, the drug maker Novartis and the National Kidney Foundation will release an educational program to more than 50 transplant centers to expand the Live Donor Champion Program. A Johns Hopkins study found that program, which teaches patients how to use social media to raise awareness about organ donations and identify potential live donor candidates, has dramatically increased — by nearly 50 percent — living organ donation rates in pilot tests.

“While patients are often hesitant to discuss their need for a transplant, friends and family members are eager to spread the word about the possibility of donation and want to be an advocate — a champion — for the patient,” said Kevin Longino, CEO of National Kidney Foundation.

Google vowed to develop ways prospective donors can easily register online and with partners will launch a national “social media declaration” campaign to record 1 million new registrations and declaration of organ donation wishes by autumn 2016.

DoSomething.org agreed to make organ donor registration its featured campaign in August for its 5 million users. Facebook will promote organ donor registration and Funny or Die will distribute its organ donor awareness campaign to its 35 million social media followers. Even Tinder will encourage its users to “swipe right” to begin the donor registration process.

UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing, the federally designated agency that oversees organ transplants, announced new data tools to increase the number of U.S. transplants. UNOS CEO Brian Shepard said the initiatives will help transplant professionals recover and use more organs more efficiently.

“These technology initiatives will speed the matching process and support the work of hospitals and OPOs (organ procurement organizations) to get transplants to more patients.”

The summit coincides with the American Transplant Congress — the annual conference of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the American Society of Transplantation — in Boston through Thursday, where the latest research and innovations in organ transplantation are shared.

Photo: Twitter user Michael Kutcher

Shares0
Shares0