About Organ Allocation

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About Organ Allocation

Most candidates, except those with living donors, wait for an organ due to the shortage of donor organs. Because each candidate's situation is unique, waiting times can vary, depending on a number of factors, such as those described below. To better understand what influences waiting time, talk with your transplant team. U.S. Waiting List Candidates by Organ-->-->U.S. Waiting List Candidates By OrganThe chart below shows the current U.S. waiting list by organ.

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Based on current OPTN data as reported on May 28, 2010. Data subject to change based on future data submission or correction.*Based on current OPTN data as reported on December 2, 2005. Data subject to change based on future data submission or correction. Totals may be less than the sums due to patients included in multiple categories. What determines who will be offered an organ?Depending on the organ, there are many considerations. These include but are not limited to:ageblood typemedical urgencywaiting timegeographic distance between donor and recipientsize of the donor organ in relation to the recipienttype of organ neededHow does organ type affect waiting times?

Heart AllocationPhysicians assign a status code to individuals waiting for a heart transplant. This code indicates how medically urgent it is that you receive a transplant. In addition, the system allocates hearts locally first, and then in a specific sequence by zone. Please see the OPTN/UNOS Allocation of Thoracic Organs Policy for details.

Lung AllocationAll candidates waiting for a lung will be grouped together, regardless of whether they are waiting for a single lung or a double lung. If one lung is allocated to a patient needing a single lung transplant, the other lung will be then allocated to another patient waiting for a single lung transplant. In addition, the system allocates thoracic organs locally first, and then in a specific sequence by zone. Please see the OPTN/UNOS Allocation of Thoracic Organs Policy for details.l

Heart/Lung AllocationIf you are waiting for heart-lung transplant, you will be registered on the individual UNOS Patient Waiting lists for both the heart and the lung. When the patient is eligible to receive a heart, the lung will be allocated to the heart-lung candidate from the same donor. When the patient is eligible to receive a lung, the heart shall be allocated to the heart-lung candidate from the same donor isolated. In addition, thoracic organs are allocated locally first, and then in a specific sequence by zone. Please see the OPTN/UNOS Allocation of Thoracic Organs Policy for details.l

Liver AllocationIf you are waiting for a liver transplant, your physician will give you a status code.This code indicates your mortality risk score or degree of medical urgency, referred to as your MELD/PELD scores (The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease/Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease). The system offers liver to candidates with the highest MELD/PELD scores first. Geographic factors are also taken into consideration. Please see the OPTN/UNOS Allocation of Livers Policy for details.

..The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease (PELD) are numerical scales that are currently used for liver allocation. The MELD and PELD scores are based on a patient's risk of dying while waiting for a liver transplant, and are based on objective and verifiable medical data.

..Learn about the MELD/PELD Calculator Go to the MELD Calculator (for ages 12 and older) Go to the PELD Calculator (for ages less than 12)

.. .Kidney AllocationThe current kidney allocation policy considers characteristics of both the donor and the transplant candidate in allocating kidneys equally, efficiently and effectively. A combination of factors, working together, determines who receives which organ. These factors include tissue match between donor and candidate; blood type; blood antibody levels; length of time spent on the waiting list; whether the potential organ candidate is a child; body size of both donor and candidate; and geographic factors. Please see the OPTN/UNOS Allocation of Deceased Kidneys Policy for details.

..Pancreas AllocationIn general, pancreases are allocated locally first, then regionally and nationally based on certain geographic zones. For local pancreas allocation, recipients may be selected from candidates awaiting an isolated pancreas, kidney-pancreas combination, or a combined solid organ-islet transplant from the same donor. Please see the OPTN/UNOS Allocation of Pancreas Policy for details.

..Reference and Publication Information The United Network for Organ Sharing is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. To learn more about our content authorship and review process, please read about our Editorial Board.The content on this page was originally created on August 1, 2003 by the United Network for Organ Sharing and last modified on June 4, 2008.This web site is intended solely for the purpose of electronically providing the public with general health-related information and convenient access to the data resources. UNOS is not affiliated with any one product nor does UNOS assume responsibility

for any error, omissions or other discrepancies.

Donation RelatedAmerican Transplant FoundationThe American Transplant Foundation is a 501©(3) non-profit organization that strives to eliminate our country's shortage of human transplant organs. Our supporters help the Foundation to raise awareness about organ donation, collaborate with other organ donation groups, and work toward better public policy.Associates and Nurses Endorsing Transplantation (ANET)ANET is a national professional organization that promotes awareness about the need for organ and tissue donors. The members include nurses and other healthcare professionals, as well as members of donor and recipient families and representatives from eye, tissue and organ

procurement agencies.CHERUBS, Children's Helpers Educating, Reassuring and Uniting By Sharing (North Bend, WA)Our mission is to help save the lives of children waiting for an organ transplant. We are an all volunteer organization dedicated to educating parents about the national shortage of child organ donors.Donor Action FoundationThe Donor Action Foundation, an international in-hospital program, helps hospitals and their critical care units increase donation rates through improved practices. Donor Action is an initiative of Eurotransplant International Foundation (The Netherlands), Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (Spain) and the former Partnership for Organ Donation (U.S.).Donor Awareness

Council (Denver, CO)The Donor Awareness Council is a non-profit coalition formed to increase organ and tissue donation through public awareness and education, serving Colorado and Wyoming.Eyebank Association of America (Washington, DC)The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) is a not-for-profit organization of eye banks dedicated to the restoration of sight through the promotion and advancement of eye banking.Gift of Life Foundation (Tampa, FL)The Gift of Life Foundation's mission is to increase public awareness concerning organ and tissue donation, primarily in the business community.Global Organization for Organ Donation (GOOD)It is GOOD's mission to

educate the public about organ, eye and tissue donation, correct misconceptions about donation, and create a greater willingness to donate.Halachic Organ Donor SocietyThe Halachic Organ Donor Society (HODS) disseminates information regarding Halachic issues and Rabbinic opinions concerning organ donation and offers card carrying membership in a society that allows people to donate organs in accordance with their particular Halachic belief.Healing the SpiritA Web site to help bereaved families heal.International Association for Organ DonationThe International Association for Organ Donation works to educate and promote the importance of organ and tissue donation and to attract additional donors

through public outreach programs and educational materials targeted at ethnically diverse communities locally and abroad. Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness (Los Angeles, CA)JRI is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the need for organ and tissue donation through film, educational outreach, and the Web.Life Goes OnThe Illinois Secretary of State’s Office Organ/Tissue Donor Program.Lion's Eyebank for Long Island (Manhasset, NY)The Lions Eye Bank for Long Island, a not-for-profit eye bank, serves the needs of Long Island, NY and the surrounding communities by providing superior quality ocular tissue for corneal and scleral transplantation surgery.Livingdonors.orgLivingdonors.org was developed by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), a major voluntary health organization that seeks to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation. Through our living donor programs, NKF seeks to support living donors and their families and to provide educational resources to those considering donation.Lyric of Life (LOL) (Overland Park, KS)Lyric of Life (LOL) is based in Overland Park, KS as a non-profit association representing a beautiful and inspirational organ donor, Lyric Marie Benson, who was born there. Contributions to LOL provide: 1) education of organ

donation, 2) assistance to donor and recipient families, and 3) theater scholarships to area high school seniors.Second Chance Trust FundThe Second Chance Trust Fund was created by the Ohio General Assembly in 1997 to provide education about, and increase awareness of, the critical need for organ, tissue and eye donation. The fund is supported by a voluntary $1 donation made when a person obtains or renews an Ohio driver license or state identification card from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The $1 donation supports efforts to educate all Ohioans about the importance of becoming an organ and tissue donor.Transplant Speakers International, Inc. (TSI) (Freehold, NJ)TSI is a non-profit organization devoted to educating the public through live public

speaking engagements presented from a donor-recipient perspective.Please contact our editor if you know of other Web sites that might be of interest. When submitting a URL for consideration, please include the topic area under which the link should be placed and a descriptive sentence or two about the subject matter/content of the site.

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