Melissa McQueen, shares her personal experience with the organ transplant system in the United States. Her youngest son was born with a complex heart defect, and she witnessed the efforts of the medical team to keep him alive. She emphasizes the importance of the nationwide Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) in making her son’s transplant possible. McQueen highlights that this system ensures equal access to organs for all patients on the waiting list, regardless of race, economic or social status. Despite recent attacks on the transplant system, she argues that the U.S. continues to break global organ donation and transplant records every year.
McQueen discusses how special interest groups and companies have been attacking the current transplant system, advocating for it to be replaced and run by new entities. She expresses concern that these proposed changes could encourage a for-profit model, which would disadvantage thousands of recipients and their families. She notes that the existing safeguard against for-profit interests in the transplant system may be at risk if a new bill, HR 2544, is passed. The bill aims to remove the requirement that any organization contracted to manage the OPTN must be a nonprofit. McQueen warns against the potential negative impact of for-profit companies, citing examples such as the soaring cost of the EpiPen and insulin. She urges the preservation of the nonprofit transplant system for the greater good and emphasizes the importance of ongoing support from the community to continue saving lives through organ transplants.
