The people hear from us that there is someone out there who knows their situation, who remembers them. They are not invisible. We come to shake their hands and say we care. It's not just about the medicine. The new committee will independently review revised organ allocation policies being developed by the U.S. transplant network.
Current regulations require that transplant policies ensure the best interest of patients.
Performance standards to facilitate this are included in the HHS regulation. In particular, the IOM called for sharing livers for transplant across broader population areas to ensure that livers are provided to patients with greatest medical need, as determined by transplant physicians. In addition to reviewing policy, the advisory committee will examine transplant data needs, ethical issues and coverage and finance issues. Healthy People Encouraged to Wait for Influenza Vaccine Because of a delay in the manufacture of the influenza vaccine this year, physicians are being instructed by Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., to advise young, healthy people to wait until December to receive influenza vaccine. According to Dr. Satcher, physicians should focus first on immunizing high-risk patients.