Two Kansas City area hospitals joined 12 other transplant centers this week in a lawsuit over a new liver allocation policy that they say will result in “hundreds of liver transplant candidates needlessly dying.”
The University of Kansas Hospital and Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed in Atlanta against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, the private organization that contracts with the government to manage the nation’s organ transplant system.
The new policy, set to take effect at the end of April, changes the regional system for allocating livers to one that gives priority to the sickest patients.
That has hospitals such as KU and Saint Luke’s upset because their region has a higher rate of donor registration than others.
Supporters of the policy change say that it’s meant to reduce geographic disparities in organ distribution. The notion is that where a patient lives or chooses to list for a transplant should not be a factor in organ allocation.
More than 13,000 people in the United States are awaiting liver transplants and only 7,000 livers are currently available, according to the lawsuit. Another 11,000 people are added to the liver waitlist every year.
The lawsuit filed Monday contends that the new policy “will result in at least 20% fewer liver transplants being performed in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged regions in the country, which are served in part by Transplant Center Plaintiffs’ liver transplant programs.”
“Based on the government’s own data, Transplant Center Plaintiffs will perform 256 fewer transplants per year — leaving 256 candidates at risk of imminent death absent the transplant they would have otherwise received,” the lawsuit states.
Calling the new policy “the product of an opaque, reckless process that failed to allow for full public comment and transparent discussion,” the plaintiffs say they’re not seeking preferential treatment. Rather, they say they’re asking HHS and UNOS “to develop a policy that complies with the law.”
The lawsuit alleges that HHS unlawfully abdicated its responsibility to determine the nation’s liver allocation policy by deferring decision-making to UNOS.
Ann Paschke, a spokeswoman for UNOS, said in a statement that the organization would review the complaint, but believes “that we have developed a sound policy that provides a fairer, more equitable system for all liver patients – no matter where they live – as they wait for a lifesaving transplant.”
“The reality is that, on average, three people die every day in the U.S. while waiting for a liver transplant, and because this new policy will save more lives by reducing the number of patients who die while waiting, we believe it is an improved policy and a step in the right direction,” Paschke said.
“This new policy is projected to reduce waitlist mortality by roughly 100 fewer deaths each year, will allow more children to receive life-saving transplants, and will correct an inequity that emerged over time within the old policy that led to unfair advantages and disadvantages based on where liver transplant recipients live.”
Besides KU and Saint Luke’s, the plaintiffs include Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which jointly operate a transplant program in St. Louis that has performed more than 2,100 liver transplants since 1985. Other plaintiffs include hospitals in Atlanta, Detroit, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia.
Four individuals awaiting transplants are also plaintiffs.
The transplant centers collectively account for 11 percent of the people nationwide awaiting liver transplants.
KU Hospital, part of the University of Kansas Health System, runs the only liver transplant program in Kansas and has performed nearly 1,600 transplants since 1990, according to the lawsuit. Saint Luke’s has performed about 70 liver transplants in the last five years.
Liver transplant survival rates have improved markedly since Thomas Starzl performed the first liver transplant at the University of Colorado in the early 1960s. The first patients survived only weeks. Today, 86 percent are alive one year after surgery, 78 percent after three years, 72 percent after five years and 53 percent after 20 years, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Organ donation registration rates vary dramatically by state. They range from a high in Montana of 93 percent of adults registered as organ donors to a low in New York of 32 percent. Missouri ranks seventh in the nation, with 73 percent of adults registered as organ donors. Kansas ranks 12th, with 68 percent registered.
As of mid-2018, more than 157,000 liver transplants had been performed in the United States since 1988.
The imminent change in allocation policy has raised hackles among Missouri and Kansas politicians. Earlier this month, Republican Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri Jerry Moran of Kansas raised the issue during a Senate health appropriations panel hearing at which HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified.
Other elected officials support the change. More than 80 House members sent a letter last month to Azar endorsing it, according to Modern Healthcare.
In an op-ed last week in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Blunt said that the new policy could result in a 32 percent drop in liver transplants in Missouri.
“No longer will locally donated livers be more likely to stay in Missouri or other Midwestern states that have high donation rates,” Blunt wrote. “Instead, the transplantation network rewards locations that don’t have the high number of organ donors that most Midwestern states do.”
The most common reasons for liver transplants are alcoholic liver disease, cancer, fatty liver disease and cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C. The vast majority of donated livers come from people who have recently died.
A statement released by KU said the new policy will result in transporting organs and transplant teams up to 500 miles away from each donor hospital, creating more risks for patients, the organs and the teams as well as higher transportation costs.
“More people will die … that’s the bottom line,” Dr. Sean Kumer, a transplant surgeon, is quoted as saying in the release.
This story was updated to include the comments of a spokeswoman for UNOS. Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.
Today’s high will be near 68 today, according to the National Weather Service.
Some showers will be possible to the north of the Kansas City area, and flooding concerns will continue in some towns along the Missouri River, the weather service said.
The Missouri River in the Wyandotte County area is under flood stage, while the Missouri River at Leavenworth is in action stage, according to hydrology charts.
Today, it will be cloudy with a high near 68 and a light and variable wind, the weather service said.
Tonight, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 50 and a light and variable wind, according to the weather service.
Thursday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 74, the weather service said. There may be patchy fog before 8 a.m. A light and variable wind will become north 12 to 17 mph in the morning, with winds gusting as high as 29 mph.
Thursday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 48 and a north wind of 5 to 11 mph becoming west northwest after midnight, according to the weather service. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Friday, it will be sunny with a high near 73 and a northwest wind of 5 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon, the weather service said.
Friday night, showers are likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 55, with a 60 percent chance of precipitation. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.
Saturday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m., with a high near 73, the weather service said.
Saturday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 44, according to the weather service.
Sunday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 68, the weather service said.
Sunday night, there will be a 40 percent chance of showers with a low of 53, according to the weather service.
Monday, there is a 40 percent chance of showers with a high near 69, the weather service said.
Monday night, there is a 50 percent chance of showers, with a low of 55, according to the weather service.
Tuesday, there is a 50 percent chance of showers, with a high near 68, the weather service said.
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, left, unveiled a sign today for the Quindaro Townsite National Commemorative Site in Kansas City, Kansas. At the right was Brad Loveless, secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)A view from the Quindaro Overlook. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
by Mary Rupert
With the unveiling of a new commemorative sign, the Quindaro Townsite National Commemorative Site was celebrated today in Kansas City, Kansas.
The event attracted several dignitaries and a crowd estimated at more than 200. The celebration was held at the Quindaro Overlook on North 27th near the Missouri River in Kansas City, Kansas.
The event was sponsored by Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, the Unified Government and the Kansas City, Kansas, Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Quindaro, an abolitionist port town founded in 1857 in an area that is now part of Kansas City, Kansas, served as a site on the Underground Railroad in the pre-Civil War days. The historic significance of the site was almost lost in the 1980s when there was a proposal to put a landfill there. An archaeological survey of the area at that time, however, uncovered many historical artifacts still in existence, and the landfill was not approved.
With the National Commemorative Site designation, there are hopes that the site can attract tourists who will visit and learn about history.
“It’s a good day for Kansas City, Kansas. This is the next step for the Quindaro townsite,” said Bridgette Jobe, executive director of the Kansas City, Kansas, Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’re excited that this is here, and we’re excited for the next step after this.”
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, who unveiled the new sign, sponsored the Quindaro townsite national designation on a bill that passed the Senate, and it was signed into law in March. Earlier, former U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-3rd Dist., had sponsored legislation for the Quindaro site, and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., also introduced a bill for the Quindaro site.
Today’s ceremony presented a united group of people from different political parties and backgrounds that is not found too often on many issues.
Several speakers recognized Marvin Robinson II, and his role through the years in protecting the Quindaro Ruins, and in advocating for legislation that would help provide funding for the historic site.
Robinson, who was not one of the public speakers at the event, was receiving congratulations from many people who were arriving at the event, and remarked that “It’s really overwhelming.”
The crowd visited before the program began at Tuesday’s Quindaro Townsite celebration. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)“We’re reminded what a simple act of identifying the marginalized and widening the circle of inclusion can be a powerful force for positive change,” said Janith English, principal chief of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, at the Quindaro Townsite celebration on Tuesday. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Janith English, principal chief of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, said the area was once the home of her great-great grandparents, Ebenezer O. and Rebecca Zane.
War eventually erupted in 1861, and families in Quindaro, some part of the Underground Railroad, were evicted by the Army, parts of Quindaro were burned and the town was rendered uninhabitable, she said.
“We now live in a time when conflict, political chaos, economic exploitation, and violence are impacting millions of our brothers and sisters around the world,” English said at today’s ceremony. “We’re reminded what a simple act of identifying the marginalized and widening the circle of inclusion can be a powerful force for positive change. Like many of you and your families, we have chosen to pursue empathy, interconnection and interdependence despite a centuries-long pattern of dispersal. I believe this is a path toward true freedom, the right to a self-determination that is willing to advocate for the rights of others. Quindaro has so many stories to tell. May this space offer a safe harbor in which we can live.”
The Rev. Stacy Evans, pastor of Allen Chapel AME Church, said there are plans to build trails at the Quindaro Townsite, and also a goal to build an interpretive center there. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
The Rev. Stacy Evans, pastor of Allen Chapel AME Church, and with the Western University Association Board, said the national commemorative site designation opens the Quindaro site to new opportunities. The AME Church and Western University Association have taken care of the Quindaro site for years, as owners.
Western University, at Quindaro, was the first and only African-American college in the state of Kansas, she said.
The next step for the Quindaro townsite is to build a team of people, which will include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Unified Government, the Vernon Center, the Old Quindaro Museum, Marvin Robinson, Freedom’s Frontier and the AME Church, she said.
They will be working together to build trails, she said. There are foundations, believed to be at least 28 foundations still there, making it the largest Underground Railroad site in the nation, she said. Some of it can’t be seen, and there is a discussion of using radar to locate the foundations.
There are plans to build trails that will be accessible for senior citizens and children, and there is also a goal of building an interpretive center to display artifacts, she said.
“The national commemorative site is a huge part of what makes it all possible,” she said. Now they can apply for state and federal grants that would help pay for the trails and improvements.
This Quindaro site is the most requested tour in all of Wyandotte County, she said. Last year, she had people from Australia and New York asking for tours, she added.
Mayor David Alvey said this event was an important moment for those who fought to protect the Quindaro Townsite. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor-CEO David Alvey said today was an important moment for those who fought to protect this site.
He thanked former Rep. Kevin Yoder, Congresswoman Sharice Davids and Sen. Roberts who carried this initiative to the capitol.
“I offer a special thanks to those who truly made this place a sacred ground, the escaped slaves who risked the lash and their lives to find freedom, a freedom that their creator had bestowed upon them from the beginning, a freedom due to them simply by virtue of their human nature, a freedom enshrined in the constitution but denied them as a political and economic expedient, a freedom that they rightly claimed for themselves and their children and their children’s children,” Mayor Alvey said. “We must marvel at what it must have been like for these persons as they crossed the Missouri River, as they crossed from slavery to freedom. Certainly they would have understood that in their crossing over to freedom, they were fulfilling the will of God, just as the Israelites understood in their crossing of the Red Sea that their God had missioned them to break out of the slavery of Egypt. So we offer special thanks to the runaway slaves and to those who aided them, slaves whose leap to freedom from slavery landed here at the Quindaro Townsite and whose journey of freedom to do the good they were called to do was launched here and continues today in our community.”
Travelers are seeking authentic and distinctive areas that have historic value, said Brad Loveless, secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Brad Loveless, secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, said it is imperative to preserve, interpret and share the history of the Quindaro area.
“We know that visiting historic sites is one of the most popular activities that travelers do,” he said. Travelers are seeking authentic and distinctive areas that have historical value, he added.
The experience of visitors will “migrate over time,” he said, moving from their heads to their hearts as they understand the significance of what happened at Quindaro.
“The Quindaro experience will make this a sought-after destination, even more than it is today,” he said. “This story will become part of their story. This city and this state will be theirs. Then we will be neighbors, and as you know, neighbors come back to visit again and again, and they bring their friends.”
Former U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, who sponsored legislation on preserving the Quindaro Townsite, said, “It’s a story of exploration, a story of freedom, more than anything, a story of hope. In many ways, the Quindaro story is the quintessential American story.”
As an academic symposium was held last year on Quindaro history, former Rep. Kevin Yoder announced he would sponsor legislation on Quindaro.
“Today is a moment of unity, in a world in which everything is so negative and so divided, this is the kind of thing that brings our country together,” Yoder said.
“It’s a story of exploration, a story of freedom, more than anything, a story of hope,” Yoder said. “In many ways, the Quindaro story is the quintessential American story.”
Making sure the Quindaro history isn’t lost has been the work of several generations, he said. Last year, Marvin Robinson testified in front of the House Natural Resources Committee on a bill sponsored by Yoder.
The challenge now is to reach the ultimate goal of the Quindaro townsite becoming a national historic landmark, he said. That would gain resources and the ability to build the architecture and infrastructure of what it needs to be.
Jim Gulliford, EPA regional administrator, said the EPA will continue to be involved in efforts to protect natural areas as well as the historic area at the Quindaro Townsite. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Jim Gulliford, administrator of the EPA’s Region 7, said there will be an opportunity for protecting natural areas as well as protecting historic ones.
The EPA is committed to continue partnership in efforts to preserve the historical site, he said. Members of the brownfield team and environmental justice program will continue to assist in efforts for redevelopment, he said.
“EPA will continue to be an active partner in the redevelopment goal for the Quindaro Townsite and Kansas City, Kansas,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, said part of the history of the area was about slavery, which was ugly, but people should never forget what happened, and never allow it to happen again. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, said, “We shouldn’t shy away from the s-word, slavery. It is a part of the history of our nation.”
He cited the history of Israel and how the people never want to forget what happened, so that it would not happen again.
“I don’t think we ought to allow this celebration to go by without saying that something ugly took place, something raw and nasty,” Rep. Cleaver said. “But men and women who represented the great rainbow of America wanted people to remember.”
He said he hopes this project will lead to the complete restoration of Quindaro. He wanted the Quindaro project to be a way of showing children and grandchildren what their ancestors went through.
“We can tell them their great-great-great grandfathers and great-great-great grandmothers risked drowning in the Missouri River,” he said. “There were great men and women who lived in that village, and those great men and women gave birth to the new African-American people all over this country.
“And we will never allow that kind of thing to happen in this country again,” Rep. Cleaver said. “We will never allow the divisions that will tear us up to happen again. We must tell unborn generations what that village means.”
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., said there was a collective strength from many individuals who came together to make sure that Quindaro’s history was preserved. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., introduced legislation in the House to make Quindaro a national commemorative site.
Quindaro’s story was one of facing adversity and triumph, and it intersected much of the nation’s long, complex, storied history, she said.
Rep. Davids noted that the name Quindaro meant “a bundle of sticks,” and its significance was that “in union there is strength.
“When we come together to do anything, there is strength in that, and that is what we’re striving to do,” Rep. Davids said.
She said there was a collective strength from many individuals who came together to make sure that Quindaro’s history was preserved.
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, left, and Judge Duane Benton, right, listened to speakers at Tuesday’s Quindaro Townsite celebration. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Sen. Roberts told the crowd he had particular interest in Quindaro because his great-grandfathers were newspaper editors and abolitionists in the mid-1800s. The Oskaloosa Independent, edited by one of his ancestors, was burned down by Quantrill’s raiders because it was a leading voice for abolition, a free state and freedom. Another great-grandfather was kidnapped by troops from the South.
Sen. Roberts said Quindaro’s residents, surrounding landowners and native Americans all worked together to help escaping slaves to freedom.
Thanks to many individuals who worked together to unearth its historic significance, the Quindaro Ruins were saved and the Quindaro story will live on to be shared with future generations, Sen. Roberts said.
“This demonstrates the rainbow that has been referred to, of America, and that you had everybody concerned to make Kansas a free state,” Sen. Roberts said.
“It just indicates how we could work together and be leading spokespeople for the cause of unity for freedom, for independence for America, for what America truly stands for,” Sen. Roberts said.
Sen. Roberts said the National Park Service stands ready to work with the community on this project.
According to Judge Duane Benton of the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, of the Freedom’s Frontier Board of Trustees, Freedom’s Frontier covers about 41 counties in eastern Kansas and western Missouri and is dedicated to preserving history. Sen. Roberts and then Sen. Sam Brownback established the heritage area through legislation introduced in 2005.
Unified Government Commissioner Gayle Townsend represents the 1st District, where the Quindaro townsite is located.
Freedom’s Frontier approached the UG Commission about it a few years ago and asked for their support. Funds for the development of this national site now are expected to be more readily available through federal and state grants.
“This is really special to me because somewhere near here was Douglass Hospital, where I was born,” Commissioner Townsend said.
There’s so much history here, starting with Wyandots, abolitionists and slaves who went through Quindaro, risking their lives on their way to freedom, she said.
She noted that many groups came together for today’s event.
“Now the challenge is to keep the synergy going,” Commissioner Townsend said.
Marvin Robinson and others were preparing for the Quindaro Townsite celebration on Tuesday in Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)Jim Ogle, left, executive director of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, spoke with Brian Leaders, right, of the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance staff at the Department of the Interior before Tuesday’s Quindaro Townsite program. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)The crowd listened to speeches at Tuesday’s Quindaro Townsite celebration. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)The flags were presented by the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)The flags were presented by the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)A view from the Quindaro Overlook, with the Missouri River in the distance. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)Some of those in attendance picked up information at the Wyandot Nation of Kansas table. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)The old Quindaro Museum provided information to those in attendance. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)Posing for photos after the Quindaro Townsite program on Tuesday. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)Another view from the Quindaro Overlook. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
