Read the full concept paper (PDF - 732 K; 1/2018)

In June 2016, the OPTN/UNOS Executive Committee endorsed formation of a two-year workgroup (“committee governance workgroup”) to assess the OPTN/UNOS committee governance structure; possible improvements to committee recruitment, selection, and engagement; and how to improve committee alignment with the Board of Directors. After endorsing several new changes to improve the committee recruitment process, the Executive Committee is considering a new concept recommended by the committee governance workgroup with regard to improving the committee governance structure.

The committee governance workgroup identified the current “one size fits all” structure as needing improvement because it limits opportunity for broader transplant community participation and makes it difficult to incorporate diverse perspectives on committees. In addition, the structure and current methods for collecting public comment from committees, regions, societies, and the general public does not allow the Board of Directors to fully consider the sentiment of particular groups or communities when making policy decisions, as perspectives are offered sporadically throughout the system. In this document, the Executive Committee outlines a proposed new volunteer workforce structure and requests feedback on whether this new concept better incorporates perspectives of different important constituencies (patient, living donor, donor family, transplant professionals), while also maintaining the subject matter expertise.