Debate continues over the government's proposed rule to require the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to ensure that the sickest patients get organs first regardless of where they live.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued two letters on June 1 accusing the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) of lying to patients in its effort to derail the government's proposal.
In one letter, the Health Resources and Services Administration complained to UNOS that it "has lobbied to block the rule in a campaign not grounded in truth, and has used tactics that have frightened transplant patients and risk negatively affecting organ donation," the New York Times reported on June 3.
In a second letter, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala wrote to members of Congress that the current system, under which organs are first made available based on geography, "is fundamentally unfair." Shalala was replying to 181 lawmakers who had written to her to inquire about the proposed system.
UNOS has maintained that the new provision would do more harm than good. In an analysis of the regulation, the organization claims that the regulations "could result in potentially tragic human consequences."
The comment period for the new rule has been extended from June 1 until August 31, and enactment has been postponed from July 1 until no earlier than October 1. A joint hearing of the Senate Labor Committee and the House Commerce Committee is scheduled for June 18 to debate the new rule.
For Your Information:
HRSA's letter to UNOS
http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/osp/Foxlttr.htmSecretary Shalala's letter to members of Congress
http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/osp/DSLETTER.htmUNOS's analysis of the proposed regulation
http://www.unos.org/Newsroom/archive_other_regsanalysis_052798.htm
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