Expanding Transplant Access Through Strategic Outreach and Community Integration

Two abstracts presented by UPMC at the 2025 UNOS Transplant Management Forum showcased innovative strategies to improve transplant access, reduce waitlist times, and optimize care delivery for transplant recipients. These abstracts focused on two distinct but complementary initiatives; scaling living-donor liver transplantation through education and national outreach and increasing lung transplant access by decentralizing lung transplant evaluation through community-based clinical expansion.

Together, these efforts highlight how marketing, patient education, digital engagement, and clinical partnerships can be leveraged to break down access barriers and enhance transplant system efficiency. These programs offer examples of UPMC’s commitment to value-based care focused on prioritizing early intervention, patient empowerment, and patient access.

Improving Liver Transplant Access Through Advocacy, Outreach, and Marketing

Living-donor liver transplantation offers distinct clinical advantages such as shorter waitlist times, improved survival rates, and increased eligibility for patients who may not otherwise qualify for a deceased donor transplant. Recognizing the potential of living donation, UPMC’s liver transplant team implemented a comprehensive education and advocacy program to grow awareness and accessibility across the U.S.

Core to this strategy is the Living Donor Champion Program, which empowers patients to identify a Champion within their own networks. This Champion helps the patient identify potential donors and is supported by tailored toolkits, social media templates, and peer support via an active Facebook champion support group. UPMC also employs a dedicated Living Donor Ambassador, enhancing patient support and navigation by providing 1:1 access to someone who has already gone through the transplantation process.

Digital content, specifically access to patient education, plays a significant role in providing potential patients and their families with the information needed to make an informed decision concerning their care provider. The living-donor liver transplant section on UPMC’s website attracted more than 52,000 views in 11 months, with significant traffic to eligibility and risk-benefit content. UPMC’s partnership with Donate Life America has led to the creation of a partnered Facebook page dedicated to providing transplant education, resources, patient testimonials, staff features, and more. A 15-state digital campaign led to 1,218 donor form submissions, and 28.6% of 2024’s living-liver donors came from outside the state (nearly 1.5 times the rate of out-of-state deceased donor transplants). These results emphasize how educational empowerment, digital presence, and national advocacy partnerships can drive meaningful donor engagement and increased transplant volume.

Community-Based Access for Lung Transplant Evaluation 

Non-clinical barriers to transplant access and care like cost, transportation, and navigation challenges, can significantly delay care. UPMC’s lung transplant team have addressed these challenges by extending services to a community-based hospital, using strategic data to align the needs of the patients with clinical capacity.  

By hosting transplant evaluation clinics and testing at a familiar, regional facility, the program decompressed central capacity, reduced travel burdens, and alleviated evaluation delays. A robust marketing and provider outreach campaign helped establish direct communication lines between transplant specialists and community physicians, strengthening referral patterns and the continuity of care.

Since opening in June 2024, the clinic has evaluated 31 patients, with four transplants completed and two added to the transplant waiting list. Patients have expressed strong satisfaction and referring providers have filled the schedule well into 2025. As a result, the team has expanded this effort and launched two additional community evaluation clinics.

Increased Access and Enhanced Outcomes 

Both programs demonstrate an approach to enhancing transplant access while reducing costs and risks associated with delayed care and advanced disease progression. Key insights include: