Media Coverage: Hospitals Sue Over New National Liver Transplant Policy

Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City is joining more than a dozen other hospitals in a lawsuit over a new liver allocation policy.

The change would send hundreds of organs donated in the Midwest to other parts of the country.  

"The decision to donate an organ is one of the most meaningful gifts a person or family can make," said John Dickerson, the Director of Transplantation at Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City. "Saint Luke’s has been proud to offer patients the life-saving gift of transplant since 1969, and as the oldest transplant program in the region, our transplant teams have expertly cared for thousands of patients in our community."  

"Saint Luke’s has grave concerns regarding the new liver allocation policy set to go into effect April 30th. We have joined forces with thirteen other highly-regarded transplant centers across the country today to prevent the Department of Health and Human Services and UNOS from implementing this flawed policy. If enacted, the Acuity Circles policy will place our end-stage liver patients at a significantly increased risk of death, result in fewer transplants nationally, increase the number of wasted and discarded organs, and increase the cost of transplantation. In short, it is a policy that is not good for our patients, for organ donation, or for transplant centers, particularly in the South and Midwest."

Read KCUR's article on the lawsuit.

Read the Kansas City Star's coverage here and here.

See KMBC's coverage below.

See KSHB's coverage below.