Thompson Will Focus on Donation, not Distribution of Organs

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on April 17 unveiled new national efforts to boost organ and tissue donations, saying he would stay out of the more "contentious" debate over how to distribute organs and tissue, the Wall Street Journal reports (Lueck, Wall Street Journal, 4/18). Thompson's initiatives include a national donor card program, a national medal to honor donor families, a new curriculum on organ donation for teenage driver-education classes and the Workplace Partnership for Life program, under which 17 businesses and organizations have agreed to educate their employees about organ donation. Thompson said HHS also will determine whether an electronic donor registry "would improve the current system" (Meckler, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/18). As governor of Wisconsin, Thompson opposed "[c]ontroversial" regulations proposed by the Clinton administration that would distribute organs first to the sickest patients nationwide, regardless of region. Instead, Thompson favored the existing system that distributes organs based on geographic location. Thompson said, "I stuck up for my state ... but that is being governor of the state of Wisconsin. Now I'm secretary and I have to look at the nation as a whole. I don't want to get into a fight over allocation or distribution because it's very contentious." Thompson said that entering the organ donation fray now would cause a "schism" within the transplant community that could make the issue "hard to broach in the future" (Wall Street Journal, 4/18).

Avoiding 'Controversy'
The AP/Inquirer reports that while HHS has the authority to "force" the United Network for Organ Sharing to "send organs to the sickest patients first, ... Thompson is unlikely to use the power" (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/18). Thompson said he plans to wait for recommendations from transplant experts and UNOS before implementing the rules. But Thompson "may not be able to avoid controversy for long," as an HHS advisory committee is set next month to discuss organ allocation rules (Wall Street Journal, 4/18). Furthermore, most of the initiatives Thompson announced yesterday constitute a "public information campaign to convince Americans that organ donation is a good idea," a tactic that "has failed" to increase organ donation rates in the past. Some transplant experts have called for "bolder initiatives." For instance, Jim Warren, editor of Transplant News, wrote in his publication, "The picture is very clear: Traditional public education media campaigns do not, have not and will not convince people to become organ donors." Warren has suggested various initiatives such as restricting organ allocation only to those people who pledge to donate them or paying donors (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/18).

Comments on the 'Slow' Nomination Process for Political Employees
Speaking April 17 at a press conference to announce new organ donation, Thompson was asked when he plans to name an NIH director and an FDA commissioner. Thompson said, "We are interviewing, and if you want to put in your resume, please do. We are looking at a lot of applicants, but the process in Washington is terribly slow. And even when I designate those people, it is going to take a long time before they are approved. In fact, as of today, I still do not have one assistant secretary or deputy secretary who has been confirmed yet ... and it's going to be several weeks and possibly months before that's done. That process to me is not right." He added, "Can you imagine private industry waiting so long ... to put somebody in place to be one of [its] key people? And that's the federal government." Thompson was then asked if this was the fault of the "system" itself or of people who "were dragging their feet up on the Hill" and didn't want to approve his nominees. Thompson responded, "I don't want to cast aspersions, I think it's the system. I went through the system." Thompson then recounted his own FBI background check in which federal agents located a man who "got into a fistfight with" Thompson when they were 16. "He couldn't remember who started the fight or who won, but he said nice things about me, which led me to believe that I lost the fight," Thompson said. He added, "The system is too long, too detailed, and I'm not blaming anybody or any party, but the process. There should be a simple way to do it" (C-SPAN, 4/17).