For more than three decades, the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing has run America’s organ transplant system, matching organs with those who need them thanks to a contract with the United States government.
But critics have contended the UNOS, which raked in nearly $58 million in revenue in 2015, is inefficient and resistant to change, leaving people in need of organs on the transplant list for years. This year, the Washington Post reports, at least two groups are exploring a bid against UNOS—the first time the organization has faced a challenge in well over a decade.
There are a few fairly sizable obstacles, however. The US government released its solicitation for bids on March 30, giving challengers just 35 days to put together a plan for how to manage a network of more than 800 transplant programs. And bidders are required to have three years of experience managing transplant projects of similar complexity—criteria that’s hard to meet unless you’re UNOS.
Who winds up with the contract, though, could make a big impact for those on the organ transplant list. At present, there are 114,894 people on the transplant list, according to UNOS. An average of 22 people on the waiting lists die each day.
The shortage has led to a race to figure out how to effectively and efficiently grow replacement organs in a lab. Others have experimented with ways to incentivize more people to donate non-vital organs, like kidneys. But it’s possible that managing the existing transplant system more efficiently could also save a lot of lives.
