An Early Investigation of Outcomes with the New 2018 Donor Heart Allocation System in the United States

Since 2005, the United States donor heart allocation system assigned patients awaiting transplantation with measurably distinct outcomes into a single high urgency priority status. In this old system, patients in cardiogenic shock, as well as ambulatory stable patients with complications of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) were allocated to a similar status of highest urgency (referred to as UNOS Status 1A) and competed equally for donor organs. This led to overcrowding of the list within this high urgency status category with consequent prolongation of waiting times and concerns of inequity in allocation across several geographic regions.

Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - November 18, 2019 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Rebecca Cogswell, Ranjit John, Jerry Estep, Sue Duval, Ryan J. Tedford, Francis D Pagani, Cindy M. Martin, Mandeep R. Mehra Tags: Research Correspondence Source Type: research