Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC): CMS Delay on IOTA Model a Setback in Urgent Effort to Expand Transplant Access

Washington, D.C. – October 30, 2024 — The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) expresses disappointment in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) delay in implementing the Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model. his delay comes at a time when patients living with kidney disease are facing an urgent crisis, one that directly impacts their […]

New Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) Analysis of Data Reveals Alarming Surge in Kidney Transplant Waitlists in Swing States

A new analysis of kidney waitlist data released by the Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) underscores a critical and growing challenge facing the U.S. healthcare system: a dramatic increase in the number of individuals waiting for a kidney transplant, especially in key presidential swing states.

Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge CMS To Add Navigators, Cost Reimbursement To IOTA Model

CMS should consider reimbursing living donors’ out-of-pocket expenses and should fund staff dedicated to navigating the transplantation process as part of its demonstration model that aims to drive up the kidney transplant rate, a bipartisan group of 47 lawmakers say in a Sept. 19 letter to CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks LaSure and CMS Innovation Center Director Liz Fowler.

Kidney Transplant Collaborative Announces Organizing Push in Virginia to Pass the LOVE Act Amidst Ongoing Kidney Donor Crisis

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) today announced the launch of an organizing campaign across Virginia to garner support for the Living Organ Volunteer Engagement (LOVE) Act. The legislation is critical to addressing the ongoing crisis in kidney donor availability, which is leaving thousands of Virginians waiting endlessly for life-saving transplants.

Kidney Transplant Collective, Bi-Partisan Coalition in Congress Calls on Biden Administration to Take Action

Nearly 50 bipartisan members of the United States House of Representatives last week sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center calling for more support for living kidney donors amid the ongoing crisis of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Knewz.com has learned that the CMS Innovation Center previously proposed increasing kidney transplants through the Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model.

Kidney Transplant Collaborative Applauds Bipartisan Coalition Calling for Increased Transplant Access and Greater Support for Living Kidney Donors

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) today praised the bipartisan coalition of members of the U.S. House of Representatives who wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center calling for increased support for living organ donation through the proposed Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model.

From pigs to payouts, weighing solutions for the US kidney shortage

Kidneys are currently the most needed organ in the country, and an ongoing crisis has left tens of thousands in limbo.

As of September, nearly 90,000 people in the US are waiting for kidneys, but only around 27,000 transplants were performed in 2024, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). That makes for a grim reality: One out of every 20 people on the waiting list die every year, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) estimates.

How kidney transplant reforms can save lives and reduce the deficit

For months, Congress has debated budget bill after budget bill, narrowly missing government shutdown deadlines seemingly every month. With a divided Congress and narrow majorities in both chambers, consensus on many topics seems hard to come by nowadays. 
Yet, lawmakers of both parties should embrace one area of reform that will save money and lives: kidney transplants and increasing living donations.

I donated a kidney to a stranger. It shouldn’t be this tough for others to give

When a beloved character in a movie needs a life-saving organ transplant, it almost always magically works out for a happy ending. My father’s story went this way, and I am forever thankful for it. But this is not the case for most Americans currently awaiting an organ transplant. And unless we fix our country’s broken transplant system, it will continue to be the norm.