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Vital News Updates
Science in Donation & Transplant continues to produce the irrefutable evidence to combat the misinformation marking both media reports and Congressional hearings on organ donation and transplant.
Special interests fighting to break apart the organ procurement system are using their resources in a shockingly well-orchestrated and expensive smear campaign about organ procurement organizations (OPOs.)
To date Congress has not heard from the unbiased, fact-based experts who can help them reform the system to the benefit of patients as well as respect the gift of life from donor families.
ed. note see the lead column below from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Surgery Dr. Christoper Johnson at the Medical College of Wisconsin praises the SID&T placed column by Advisory Board member Dr. Matthew Cooper. Dr. Johnson continues the rightful assault on the wrongful so-called CMS reforms.
Federal Organ Donor ‘Reforms’ Are Counterproductive
In a guest column originally published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on March 20, titled "Federal Organ Donor 'Reforms' Proposal Puts Patients at Risk," Dr. Matthew Cooper, Chief of Transplant Surgery at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, raised concerns about the performance metrics that The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will require from Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) across the U.S. starting in 2026.
Organ Law Protects Donor Rights
In her recent article for CBS News, Dr. Céline Gounder raises important concerns about inconsistencies in how organ donor status is tracked across states. She is right that the system can be complex and, at times, confusing. But the conclusion some readers may draw—that the system is ethically suspect or insufficiently protective of patient intent—misunderstands a central feature of U.S. organ donation law …
OPOs Breaking Records, Saving Lives: OPOs and Transplant Centers Thrived in 2025 Despite the Continuing Profound Governance Failures by CMS and Congress
The ongoing governance and oversight failures of Congress and CMS raise a life-and-death question. Who is best serving the 100,000 plus patients on the organ waiting lists and the donor families who will bring them life?
Congress and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Misled on Organ Donation and Transplant
To the great detriment of over 100,000 patients on the organ transplant waiting list, a Congressional committee has once again held a hearing, ignoring evidence-based, peer-reviewed lifesaving science. False narratives are misleading policy makers.
Bringing Integrity to Organ Donation and Transplant Oversight
The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Oz with their dramatic decertification of the Miami organ procurement organization demonstrate that the previous disjointed approach to federal oversight of the system of past years will no longer be acceptable …
SID&T Submits Two Testimonies to the Committee on Ways and Means
Science in Donation & Transplant (SID&T) appreciates the Committee’s interest in safeguarding the integrity of the U.S. organ donation and transplant system. Our mission is to ensure that federal policy in this field is grounded in …
A Commentary by Matthew Cooper, MD, Renowned Transplant Surgeon
The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Oz with their dramatic decertification of the Miami organ procurement organization demonstrate that the previous disjointed approach to federal oversight of the system of past years will no longer be acceptable …
A Wrong Fix for Tampa and the Nation’s Organ Transplant System
Over the fifty plus year history of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has empirically and repeatedly failed to develop and adopt a reliable and comprehensive assessment of their relative performance.
The Repetitive History of CMS Failing Patients and Donors with Flawed Performance Metrics for Organ Procurement Organizations
Over the fifty plus year history of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has empirically and repeatedly failed to develop and adopt a reliable and comprehensive assessment of their relative performance.
HRSA Continues Its Heavy Hand of Censorship
The frustrating history of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) failure to establish reliable performance metrics for Organ Procurement Organizations persists today, as SID&T has learned about a federal agency threatening a health research firm that was contracted to work with OPOs to develop an unbiased and accurate alternative to CMS’ latest flawed rule.