New system, old problem: Increased wait time for high-priority transplant candidates.

ABSTRACT

The 2018 heart allocation policy sought to improve risk stratification and reduce waitlist mortality for the sickest patients. This study sought to evaluate changes in wait times for the highest priority patients since policy implementation. All adult single-organ transplant recipients were identified in the United Network for Organ Sharing registry from October 18, 2018, to July 8, 2022, and separated into 4 periods. Outcomes were compared by blood type and UNOS region. Over the study period, 897 of 9,143 patients were listed as status 1 with no significant change in median wait time by blood type or region. More patients were listed as status 2 (4,523/9,143), and each subsequent period postpolicy change was associated with a 4.2-day increase in mean status 2 waitlist time (95% confidence interval 3.0-5.5, p < 0.0001). Wait times were longest for candidates with blood type O and shortest for AB & A. Regional variations continued, however, wait time increased in every region over time.