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What to expect at regional meetings

Regions

The US is organized into 11 geographic regions to facilitate transplantation. In each region, a Regional Councillor, an Associate Regional Councillor, and a transplant community administrator work together to coordinate regional activities. Each region is represented by the Councillor on the OPTN Board of Directors and there is a regional representative on most of the standing OPTN committees. Regional meeting information is posted to the Regions section on the OPTN website.

Regional Meeting Overview

  • Public comment periods offer an opportunity to provide feedback on proposed changes to OPTN policies (OPTN public comment)
  • Meetings are held twice each year during the winter (Jan-March) and summer (Aug-Oct) public comment periods
  • The meeting agenda is divided into two sections: discussion and non-discussion (ND) policy proposals*
  • Discussion policy proposals are presented and discussed at the regional meeting
  • Non-discussion policy proposals are not discussed at the regional meeting

Regional Meeting Agenda

The regional meeting is chaired by the Regional Councillor. A typical meeting includes the following components:

  • Regional update presented by the Regional Councillor
  • OPTN update presented by a UNOS executive or President/VP of OPTN Board of Directors
  • OPTN committee updates presented by Regional Representatives of OPTN committees
  • Policy proposals presented by Regional Representatives from the sponsoring committees followed by discussion 

Sentiment

OPTN representatives submit sentiment on public comment items. Sentiment is advisory and helps the Regional Councillor represent the viewpoints of the region to the OPTN Board of Directors on each policy proposal.

  • Each organization may submit sentiment one time for each public comment item, but anyone may voice feedback or ask questions. 
  • Transplant Community Administrators announce sentiment and take notes on the feedback voiced by meeting attendees to create written comments that express the viewpoints of the region.
  • Regional sentiment and comments on proposals are posted to the OPTN website in the public comment section* and shared with the sponsoring committee for each proposal and the OPTN Board of Directors for consideration.

*Members and general public are encouraged to post individual comments on the OPTN website in the public comment section.