HHS expands oversight into organ transplant network

HHS launched a dashboard Aug. 27 to track organ transplants that skip patients next in line on transplant waiting lists. 

The practice, called “allocation out of sequence,” is growing in frequency. In 2024, organ procurement organizations skipped waitlisted patients for 19% of transplants from deceased donors, six times more often than from a few years prior. The frequency increase is partly driven by clinicians prioritizing favoritism and ease over fairness, according to The New York Times. 

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network’s policies and national law mandates organ allocation follow a “match run” to rank eligible recipients based on medical urgency, distance and other factors, according to HHS. 

In June, 15.2% of organ allocations were out of sequence, according to the dashboard, which tracks kidney, pancreas, liver, intestine, heart and lung transplants.

In an Aug. 27 news release, HHS said the AOOS dashboard will help the agency “crack down on noncompliance and give patients, families and clinicians clear information about whether the system is operating fairly.” The move follows HHS’ July 21 initiative to reform the U.S. organ transplant system.

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