Author Archives: Dawn Levitt Author

Get Involved in Transplant Decision Making

If you have been reading about the recent policy changes in the administration of the organ transplant system, and you want to make your voice heard, there are several opportunities available to you. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) will be holding public meeting in each of the eleven UNOS allocation areas. The listContinue reading “Get Involved in Transplant Decision Making”

Organ Transplant System Updates

Statement from HRSA Administrator on Passage of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act Thursday, July 27, 2023 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson released this statement following Thursday’s passage of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act; the Senate passed the bill Thursday evening. “TheContinue reading “Organ Transplant System Updates”

Furry Friday – Nose Art

My windows are dirty, but I don’t clean them, at least not every day.  I don’t want to erase a work in progress.  The large picture window in the living room provides a blank canvas for our dogs to create “nose art,” masterpieces rendered in drool and nose smudges, passionately smeared across the window inContinue reading “Furry Friday – Nose Art”

Senate Action on Organ Transplant

Bill H.R. 2544 passed by unanimous vote in the Senate on 07/25/2023.  The legislation will go to President Biden’s desk for signature.  The president’s fiscal year 2024 budget featured legislative proposals to “modernize statutory tools” regarding the OPTN. In March, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced aContinue reading “Senate Action on Organ Transplant”

Happy Gotcha Day, Bruce!

Yesterday was Bruce Wayne’s “Gotcha Day”!  We brought him home from the shelter on July 20, 2022.  Although I applied to adopt him at the end of June, we had to wait three weeks because he had a bad case of kennel cough and required multiple courses of antibiotics for it to clear his system. Continue reading “Happy Gotcha Day, Bruce!”

Transplant List – Part Two, Liver and Kidney

In the previous entry, we discussed the transplant process for heart and lung.  Today, we will continue our discussion with liver and kidney transplants. LIVER The organ allocation policy currently in use went into effect in 2020. MELD, the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, is a numeric scale, ranging from 6 (less ill) to 40Continue reading “Transplant List – Part Two, Liver and Kidney”