The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is responsible for transplant organ
distribution in the United States. UNOS oversees the allocation of many
different types of transplants, including liver, kidney, pancreas, heart, lung,
and cornea.
UNOS receives data from hospitals and medical centers throughout the country
regarding adults and children who need organ transplants. The medical transplant
team that currently follows you is responsible for sending the data to UNOS, and
updating them as your condition changes.
Criteria have been developed to ensure that all people on the waiting list
are judged fairly as to the severity of their illness and the urgency of
receiving a transplant. Once UNOS receives the data from local hospitals, people
waiting for a transplant are placed on a waiting list and given a "status" code.
The people in most urgent need of a transplant are placed highest on the status
list, and are given first priority when a donor kidney becomes available.
When a donor organ becomes available, a computer searches all the people on
the waiting list for a kidney and sets aside those who are not good matches for
the available kidney. A new list is made from the remaining candidates. The
person at the top of the specialized list is considered for the transplant. If
he/she is not a good candidate, for whatever reason, the next person is
considered, and so forth. Some reasons that people lower on the list might be
considered before a person at the top include the size of the donor organ and
the geographic distance between the donor and the recipient.