New US liver transplant policy raises cost and equity concerns, according to new study [Video]

Changes to the policy that governs how liver transplants are allocated in the United States were meant to increase the number of transplants and make the process more equitable, but a new study raises concerns that it’s putting certain underserved communities at a greater disadvantage.Video above: Daughter’s liver, kidney transplants help save mother’s lifeThe new liver allocation policy changed the geographic parameters that guide which patients receive donated organs. Instead of operating within defined regional service areas, the new policy prioritizes the sickest liver candidates who are listed at transplant hospitals that are within a 500-nautical mile radius of the donor hospital. It was implemented in February 2020 by the United Network for Organ Sharing, which is contracted by the federal government’s Organ Procurement and Transplant Network.In a study published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Surgery, researchers assessed outcomes during the first year under the new policy for 22 …