(Washington, D.C., Friday, April 30, 2021)—Two witnesses from Global Liver Institute (GLI) will testify at a key U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on the need to reform the nation’s system for securing organs for transplant for patients experiencing organ failure.
Donna Cryer, JD, is GLI president and CEO. A 26-year liver transplant recipient, she founded GLI to advocate for patients at every point of the liver care spectrum, from preventive health to transplantation.
LaQuayia Goldring is a kidney donation recipient awaiting a second kidney transplant, working as a Donate Life ambassador for organ donation awareness. She is an intern with the Pediatric and Rare Liver Disease program at GLI.
The hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, “The Urgent Need to Reform the Organ Transplantation System to Secure More Organs for Waiting, Ailing, and Dying Patients,” will take place Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 11 a.m. ET. It will be fully remote on Zoom.
Cryer and Goldring will describe their experiences with the donation system and how the need for efficient, responsive transplantation is critical to waiting patients and donors’ families. Thousands of transplant patients suffer and healthy organs are wasted every year due to well-documented operational problems in the organ procurement operation network and racial, geographic, and socioeconomic inequities in organ donation and transplant processes.
The committee will explore urgent near-term solutions to build accountability from organ procurement operations and increase the availability of organs for transplant.
GLI has been consistent in fact-based advocacy for transparency, accountability, and equity in the organ donation, recovery, and transplant system. It has served as a leader, rallying the transplant advocacy community to the issue, culminating in persistent agency and bipartisan, bicameral congressional letters. GLI’s most recent letter to the new leaders of the U.S. federal health agencies urging reform was in February.
GLI also has explored the organ procurement system and the patient experience in venues such as GLI LIVE, its weekly online show. An episode featuring Goldring is here. An episode on the triumphs and tragedies of organ transplantation is here. Cryer appeared in a segment on the topic on “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.”
About Global Liver Institute
Global Liver Institute (GLI) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, with offices in the U.S. and Europe. GLI’s vision is for liver health to take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with the prevalence and impact of liver disease. GLI’s mission is to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by liver disease through promoting innovation, encouraging collaboration, and supporting the scaling of optimal approaches to help eradicate liver diseases. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and YouTube.
