UNOS Transplant Waitlist Status – We need your input by February 28, 2014!

Laurel Williams, RN, MS, CCTC

Transplant Chronicles Editor-In-Chief

The UNOS Transplant Coordinators Committee (TCC) is seeking input on an idea that would impact patients on the transplant waitlist. UNOS does not currently have any policies regarding how potential transplant patients are notified when they become “temporarily inactive” (Status 7). As a result, the TCC has been working on a proposal since 2011 to standardize the way potential transplant recipients on the waitlist are notified when they become “temporarily inactive.”

Why do people fall into this category?
 There are many reasons why people might be listed as “temporarily inactive.” Everyone who falls into this category has already been evaluated and accepted by a transplant center, but cannot receive an organ while listed with this status. This status change may be due to a change in one’s current health status (for example, if another illness or infection is active and would jeopardize the transplant), incomplete insurance/financial arrangements or other reasons. At any time, transplant centers can reactivate temporarily inactive status without patients losing priority on the waitlist.

How many people fall into this category?
 As of July 19, 2013, UNOS data indicates that 25,464 registrations were waiting in a “temporarily inactive” status for one or more consecutive years, of which 87% were kidney registrations.

How are patients currently notified regarding their waitlist status?
 Currently, UNOS only requires a patient to receive a letter when they are listed for transplant or removed from the transplant waitlist. Many centers have regular contact with their patients and notify their patients if they are made “inactive.” Other centers do not have a regular practice for notifying patients who have attained “inactive” status.

As patient advocates, the TCC feels strongly that it is the patient’s right to know where they stand on the transplant waitlist. As such, we want to make sure our patients know and understand their current status on the waitlist and what it means.

The TCC’s research has found that:

  • Potential transplant recipients may not understand the term “temporarily inactive” or “Status 7” and that this status means they will not receive organ offers1;
  • “Temporary inactivation” is a risk factor for longer waiting time2;
  • A significant number of hemodialysis patients mistakenly think that they are listed when they are not3;
  • Inactive status is associated with higher waitlist deaths4; and,
  • Inactive status is associated with lower rates of transplantation5.

TCC’s Proposed UNOS Policy
 The TCC would like to submit a revised proposal to UNOS that states that a patient needs to be advised in writing about their inactive status, a certain number of days after they are placed in an inactive status if they continue to remain inactive, continuously for one year. Patients would be told:

  • The most recent date they were made inactive
  • The reason they were made inactive
  • That they cannot receive organ offers while they are in an inactive status
  • Who to contact to discuss their inactive status

The TCC is considering the time intervals for the mailing of these letters. We are also researching ways to give centers easy access to their inactive waitlist in order to notify patients.
We appreciate your review of this information and welcome your comments or concerns. UNOS needs to hear your voice as well in this important matter. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Please feel free to send comments to the TCC Chair, Laurie Williams at: williamsl@unmc.edu or contact her directly at 1-800-401-4444.

  1. Lack of Listing Status Awareness: Results of a Single-Center Survey of Hemodialysis Patients.
    Gillespie, A., Hammer, H., Lee, J., Nnewihe, C., Gordon, J., and Silva, P. American Journal of Transplantation (2011), 11: 1522-1526.
  2. Temporary Inactive Status on Renal Transplant Waiting List: Causes, Rick Factors, and Outcomes.
    Safi, S., Zimmerman, B. and Kalil, R. Transplantation Proceedings (2012), 44, 1236-1240
  3. Lack of Listing Status Awareness: Results of a Single-Center Survey of Hemodialysis Patients.
    Gillespie, A., Hammer, H., Lee, J., Nnewihe, C., Gordon, J., and Silva, P. American Journal of Transplantation (2011), 11: 1522-1526.
  4. Trends in the Inactive Kidney Transplant Waitlist and Implications for Candidate Survival.
    Grams, M.E., Massie, A.B., Schold, J.D., Chen, B.P., and Segev, D.L., American Journal of Transplantation (2013), 13: 1012-1018.
  5. Trends in the Inactive Kidney Transplant Waitlist and Implications for Candidate Survival.
    Grams, M.E., Massie, A.B., Schold, J.D., Chen, B.P., and Segev, D.L., American Journal of Transplantation (2013), 13: 1012-1018.