Issue #18 | March 2026

Welcome to the Science in Donation & Transplant Newsletter!

Three new and informative articles in this issue:

1. SID&T Comment to CMS on Latest Proposed Rule

2. “Patients Put At Risk by Latest Federal “Reforms” Proposal Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Column by Matthew Cooper, MD, SID&T Board Member, and Renowned Transplant Surgeon

3. HRSA’s Heavy-Handed “Out-of-Sequence” Organ Allocation Policy Slows Donation and Transplant Rates, Studies Show

SID&T Comment to CMS on Latest Proposed Rule

On Monday, March 10, 2026, Science in Donation and Transplant submitted a comprehensive commentary to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the proposed final rule on Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) Conditions for Coverage Revisions (CMS-3409-P).

No one wants to protect underperforming OPOs or transplant centers. Similarly, CMS does not want to ignore underperforming hospitals. The difference is that CMS wisely delegates the responsibility for hospital evaluation and …

SID&T Board Member Dr. Matthew Cooper "Federal Organ Donor 'Reforms' Proposal Puts Patients at Risk”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Guest Column

I became a transplant surgeon, like the great majority of my colleagues, to make a difference. The vast landscape of healthcare in America reveals few areas more contingent on the nurturing of right relationships than those in organ donation and transplant. As a new year unfolds, we have much work to do for those on transplant waiting lists and the selfless donor families to protect our world-leading donation and transplant system from misguided forces.

HRSA’s Heavy-Handed “Out-of-Sequence” Organ Allocation Policy Slows Donation and Transplant Rates, Studies Show

Last year’s New York Times investigation portrayed “allocation out of sequence” (AOOS)—offering organs outside the standard computer-generated match list—as a sign that the transplant system is being rigged. Federal authorities responded, issuing a memorandum letting Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) and others in the transplant community know that AOOS was unfair and would no longer be tolerated, and that each time it was used, unwelcome scrutiny would follow.

Discover SID&T on Your Favorite Social Media Platforms

Did you know that we post regularly across a series of popular social media platforms? Give us a follow and join us as we share updates from the news, Washington D.C., and debunk bad science and misinformation on OPOs, and organ donation and transplantation.

Science in Donation and Transplant is a non-profit established in November 2020 devoted to improving OPOs performance and placing patient results above politics.

Our goal is to ensure that the metrics and measures used to credential, license, designate and certify donation and transplant organizations are grounded in science and protected from political whim and private financial influence.