July 2024 Update
For four decades, the OPTN Board of Directors has been one-and-the-same as the corporate Board of Directors for the federal government’s contractor, raising issues about potential conflicts of interest. Now, as part of the OPTN Modernization Initiative, HRSA has separated the OPTN Board of Directors from the OPTN contractor so it may better serve the interests of patients and their families. This is a key step in HRSA’s commitment to strengthening OPTN governance and preventing conflicts of interest within the Network. Moving forward, no member of the OPTN Board can sit on an OPTN vendor’s board of directors.
HRSA supported the incorporation of a non-profit organization, independent from the OPTN contractor, to serve as the new OPTN Board of Directors through a HRSA-issued designation contract. HRSA worked with the OPTN officials to align existing OPTN bylaws, policies, and procedures to the new structure, which the OPTN Board members voted on and adopted.
Establishing a separate Board of Directors is an important piece of HRSA’s OPTN Modernization Initiative and implements a key component of the bipartisan Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act signed by President Biden in September 2023. HRSA will further support the new governance model through:
- An interim OPTN Executive Director to support transition activities
- A new Board Support contract award this Fall for governance experts to support the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities
- Multiple new Transition Operations contract awards this Fall to support a modernized OPTN
- A special election of new Board members