Distinguished Medical and Public Policy Leaders

Science in Donation & Transplant (SID&T), a leading national public affairs and policy group dedicated to scientific research and innovation in organ donation and transplantation oversight and governance, today announced it has created a new Advisory Board and appointed initial members. The SID&T Advisory Board is intended to provide counsel and guidance to advocacy of donation and transplantation performance measurement, policy development, and messaging to ensure the public trust that is essential to organ donation.

The advisory board members bring clinical transplantation, transplant and donation ethics, governmental oversight, and public policy experience to SID&T and include:

Matthew Cooper, MD

Chief of Transplantation, Director of Solid Organ Transplant and a Professor of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Mark B. Adams Distinguished Professor of Surgery.

Anthony Watkins, MD

Surgical Director of Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Program and Associate Professor of Surgery at Tampa General Hospital Transplant Institute

Brendan Parent, JD

Director of transplant ethics and policy research, and assistant professor of bioethics in the division of medical ethics and surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Anne Murphy, MBA FACHE

Consultant and former Chief Administrative Officer, Department of Learning Health Sciences University of Michigan Medical School, and Transplant Center Administrative Director – University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers

J. Thomas Rosenthal, MD

Retired Chief Medical Officer, UCLA Medical Center, Associate Vice Chancellor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Director of the Kidney Transplant Program at UCLA.

Herb Conaway, MD, JD

New Jersey Assemblyman, Chair Health Committee; US Congressional Candidate, Captain, US Air Force Physician, Director of Health, Burlington County.

Dr. Rosenthal, “It is now well understood, based on abundant scientific evidence, that the methodology in the 2020 OPO rule is fatally flawed, and that CMS is going to have to revise the rule. The whole OPO accreditation process needs to be modernized in accordance with long-standing and well-established principles of measurement for quality and accreditation and as proposed in the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine landmark 2022 study Realizing the Promise of Equity in the Organ Transplantation System.”

Dr. Conaway, veteran legislator, “The best governing hears from all sides, is thoroughly vetted and follows the science. We need to bring expertise and commonsense judgement to produce the best policy.”

Anne Murphy, “The U.S. Organ Donation and Transplantation system is renowned as the world's most advanced and accomplished. We must insist that changes and improvements to this system be driven from evidence-based practice and scientific study, rather than various looming and, sometimes, competing forms of self-interest. We owe this to the patients and families we serve, whose lives and wellbeing hang in the balance.”

Dr. Watkins, “By fostering partnerships across clinical, scientific, and policy domains, we can drive necessary improvements that are both innovative and inclusive, ensuring every patient has the chance for a life-saving transplant.”

SID&T and its Advisory Board members are devoted to the promotion of and reliance on vetted, peer-reviewed, and published scientific research to continue the growth of the world-leading U.S. donation and transplant system. SID&T provides education, access to research, and expertise for policymakers, media, and the public.

Policy makers in Congress and the Executive branch need to assure all that patient outcomes and donor family gifts will be guided by the best data and best practices. SID&T’s primary goal is to ensure that the metrics and measures used to credential, license, designate, and certify donation and transplant organizations are grounded in science, are based upon sound statistical and demographic analyses, and are protected from political whim and private financial influence.

The donation and transplant community is increasingly concerned over the impact of disinformation on the development of critical public policies, governance, and regulation affecting organ donation and transplantation. With the help of our highly qualified Advisory Board, SID&T is expanding our outreach and voice to provide evidence-based, scientifically sound information to regulators, members of Congress and their staffs, media, transplant professionals, patients and donor families.

Science in Donation &Transplant is a collective of public policy, governmental, legislative, clinical, and public affairs professionals, and its work can be found at: https://sidandt.org/, https://www.instagram.com/scienceindonation, https://twitter.com/scnceindonation.

John Samerjan jns@sidandt.org