As part of the Administration’s efforts, for the first time in the program’s nearly 40-year history, HRSA has awarded separate contracts to reform the organ procurement and transplant network. Multiple vendors will support improving quality and patient safety, modernizing IT, bolstering communications with patients, and more.

Today, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the first-ever multi-vendor contract awards to modernize the nation’s organ transplant system. The goal is to improve transparency, performance, governance, and efficiency of the organ donation and transplantation system for more than 100,000 people on the organ transplant waitlist.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) has long faced critiques about lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest, IT reliability issues, and other structural challenges. As part of the Administration’s transformation of OPTN, multiple contractors will now provide their expertise to improve the national organ transplant system. This transition from a single vendor to multiple vendors supports OPTN operations and implements the bipartisan Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act signed by the President in September 2023.

“With the life of more than 100,000 Americans at stake, no organ donated for transplantation should go to waste,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “For too long, our organ transplant system has fallen short, mired in monopoly. The Biden-Harris Administration has reformed OPTN to require accountability in the operation of organ procurement that our transplant patients and their families demand.”

“One person is added to the waitlist every 10 minutes. Each one relies on and deserves the best care possible,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “Today’s action marks a significant advancement in the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to doing what it takes to make sure the nation’s organ matching system works for patients, donors, and families who depend on OPTN for that life-saving call.”

HRSA is announcing multiple OPTN modernization awards to support critical actions:

- **Improving Patient Safety**: Arbor Research Collaborative for Health will provide support on patient safety and policy compliance systems overseen by OPTN's Board of Directors.

- **Supporting OPTN IT Modernization**: General Dynamic Information Technology (GDIT) will focus on opportunities to improve OPTN's organ matching IT system.

- **Increasing Transparency and Public Engagement**: Maximus Federal will advance public visibility in OPTN policy-making processes.

- **Strengthening Patient-Centered Communications**: Deloitte will work on improving communications within OPTN as well as with patients and families.

- **Improving Financial Management**: Guidehouse Digital will address improvements in budget development and management systems.

In August 2024, HRSA announced that OPTN's Board of Directors is now separately incorporated from its longtime contractor United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). An OPTN Board Support contract was awarded to American Institutes for Research.

HRSA launched its Modernization Initiative in March 2023 with proposals to reform decades-old statutes governing OPTN. Within a year, HRSA worked closely with bipartisan leaders in Congress to secure passage of legislation boosting funding for modernization efforts. Today’s awards represent a key step forward in this work.