HRSA Announces Key Technology and Governance Milestones in its Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization Initiative
January 2025 Update:
Today, HRSA is announcing two key advances in the historic effort to improve the Nation’s organ transplant system and better serve the patients, families, donors and health care providers who make transplantation possible. HRSA is:
- Releasing a new solicitation to support the next generation of Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) technology infrastructure that is agile, resilient, interoperable, and user-friendly; and
- Launching the special election process for a new OPTN Board of Directors with the formation of a Transitional Nominating Committee, a critical step in HRSA’s commitment to strengthen OPTN governance, mitigate conflicts of interest, and establish independence.
HRSA Releases New Solicitation to Modernize OPTN IT Systems
The new solicitation released today will enable HRSA to modernize OPTN IT systems and build on the OPTN modernization awards announced in September 2024. As a Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement, it will allow HRSA to engage with experienced vendors to develop key pieces of the modern OPTN IT system in a timely and efficient manner. The solicitation is posted on the General Services Administration e-Buy platform and announced on SAM.gov.
HRSA Announces Transitional Nominating Committee for Upcoming OPTN Board of Directors Special Election
HRSA is announcing the formation of a Transitional Nominating Committee, a critical step in HRSA’s commitment to strengthen OPTN governance, mitigate conflicts of interest, and establish independence, through a special election of a new OPTN Board of Directors. The Transitional Nominating Committee will support the Special Election for the new OPTN Board. The committee will publicly solicit candidates for the Board, develop a slate of Board candidates for a vote by OPTN members, and select a date in spring 2025 for the special election.
In forming the Transitional Nominating Committee, HRSA solicited public input, engaged with community members, and sought input from board governance and organizational leadership experts. Members of the Transitional Nominating Committee will not be eligible to serve on the new OPTN Board of Directors. The committee is temporary and will be dissolved once the Special Election is completed.
The Transitional Nominating Committee consists of 13 individuals bringing a balance of clinical transplant expertise, patient experience, and governance and ethics expertise to support OPTN operations and modernization, and will be chaired by individuals with extensive governance and leadership experience. The Transitional Nominating Committee reflects HRSA’s commitment to strengthen the governance capacity of the OPTN Board and to ensuring that OPTN policies and operations are patient-centered.
The Transitional Nominating Committee members are:
- Chair: General Janet Wolfenbarger (Ret. USAF), MS
- Retired United States Air Force General
- Member, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation
- Member, Board of Directors, AECOM (an infrastructure firm)
- Former Chair, Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
- Trustee, US Air Force Academy Falcon Foundation (2016-Present)
- Co-Chair: Pamela D. Paulk, MSW, MBA
- Former President, Johns Hopkins Medicine International
- Living kidney donor
- Andre Dick, MD
- Surgeon-in-Chief, Seattle Children’s Hospital
- Colleen Jay, MD
- Surgeon and Director, Living Donor Program, Wake Forest University
- Dominic Adorno, MS
- President & CEO, DonorConnect
- Edward Hickey, JD
- President, American Association of Kidney Patients
- Eric Gibney, MD
- Nephrologist and Program Director, Piedmont Transplant Institute in Atlanta, GA
- Gena Johns, BSN
- Program Manager, Kidney/Pancreas Transplant, University of Florida Shands Transplant Center in Gainesville, FL
- Lisa Lee, PhD, MA, MS
- Former Executive Director, Presidential Bioethics Commission
- Former Chief of Bioethics, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
- Lorrinda Gray-Davis
- President, Transplant Recipients International Organization
- Liver transplant recipient
- Margie Shaw, PhD, JD
- Director, Clinical Ethics at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY
- Sean Kumer, MD
- Surgeon, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, University of Kansas Health System
- Yesenia Diaz, BS
- Founder and General Contractor, Industry Grade Construction Group
- Two-time kidney transplant recipient
The latest actions build on HRSA’s ongoing efforts to bolster OPTN performance, transparency, and accountability and set the course towards a brighter future for all Americans who receive the gift of life through an organ donation.
2024 updates
- November 2024
- September 2024: HRSA Makes Multi-Vendor Modernization Awards to Support the Nation’s Organ Transplant System
- August 2024
- July 2024: A Historic Step to Modernize and Separate the OPTN Board of Directors
- June 2024: HRSA's Progress on Transforming the Organ Transplant System to Better Serve Patients and Families
- May 2024: HRSA's Latest Steps to Transform the Organ Transplant System to Better Serve Patients and Families
- February 2024: HRSA Takes Historic New Steps to Transform the Organ Transplant System to Better Serve Patients and Families
- December 2023: HRSA's approach to securing best-in-class expertise and an independent Board of Directors
- October 2023: OPTN Transition Contract Updates, Enhanced HRSA and CMS Collaboration, and HRSA Stakeholder Engagement
- September 2023: Enhanced HRSA and CMS Collaboration, HRSA Stakeholder Engagement, and Industry Day
- July 2023: Statement from HRSA Administrator on Passage of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act
- May 2023: The Path Forward
- March 2023: HRSA Announces Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization Initiative
Frequently asked questions
The modernization initiative will encompass all functions of the OPTN, inclusive of IT and non-IT related activities. As part of the initial phase of the OPTN Modernization Initiative, HRSA is announcing the following actions:
- Build Capacity for Modernization – HRSA is building its capacity to support a modernized OPTN and will be engaging a Program Management Support contractor to assist in the modernization in addition to more than doubling resources available to support the initiative in its FY 2024 President’s Budget request.
- Make Data Available for Critical Decision Making – To assist patients, clinicians, and researchers, HRSA is publishing organ donation and transplantation data to improve data transparency and decision-making. View the OPTN Data Dashboard.
- Engage Stakeholders – HRSA will engage a diverse group of stakeholders early and often to identify and prioritize pressing areas of need for patients and clinicians.
- Improve OPTN functionality – In the next Request for Proposal (RFP), move towards separating OPTN support functions, which may include Board governance, OPTN operations, and IT systems. This approach will diversify the field of potential contractors, encouraging improved functionality through greater competition and innovation.
HRSA endeavors to keep stakeholders and the public apprised of updates in a transparent fashion. HRSA will publish the latest updates on OPTN Modernization Initiative progress on this page.
In addition, to assist patients, clinicians, and researchers, HRSA is publishing organ donation and transplantation data to improve data transparency and decision-making. View the OPTN Data Dashboard.
For all media inquiries, please contact press@hrsa.gov.
Resources
English
Spanish
- Visite el Panel de datos de la OPTN (en inglés)
- Explore los datos en el Archivo de Uso Público (PUF) (en inglés)
Date Last Reviewed: