Dear Colleagues,

In particular, on page 2 of the pdf of the Expanding Candidate and Deceased Donor HLA Typing Requirements to Provide Greater Consistency across Organ Types proposal, the OPTN/UNOS Histocompatibility Committee has written the following specific request for comments:

If so, is it sufficient to have this donor HLA information recorded in DonorNet to use when making donor acceptance decisions? Or, is it imperative to add unacceptable antigen fields for these loci and program the UNOS system to automatically avoid those donors when unacceptable antigens are listed?

The ASHI National Clinical Affairs Committee and the Executive Board have prepared an official ASHI response. It can be found here.

Again, we urge you to take a close look at the proposals and comment on them. There are additional proposals open for public comment, as well, but they will have less impact on our laboratories. You are encouraged to read all of the proposals and comment on any for which you have an opinion. Remember, it is important for ASHI members to comment on these proposals because every comment, whether it comes from an individual or an organization, is counted equally.

The deadline for submission of comments is June 13, 2014.

Thank you for your continuing support of ASHI and its mission.

Sincerely,

John Gerlach, PhD, D(ABHI)

President, ASHI