High Stakes Product thinking
United Network of Organ Sharing
Organ-Matching Experience
Problem: Clinicians relied on an outdated matching system that forced manual workarounds and put viable organs at risk.
What we shipped: I led the modernization of the organ-matching experience, translating clinical workflows and regulatory constraints into decision-critical data that reduced response times by 50%.
Impact: This was the single component of UNOS’s five-part federal contract that was renewed.
Context
UNOS is a nonprofit that managed five components of the U.S. organ transplant system under federal contract until 2025, with a staff of roughly 400–500. I led UX research for the national organ matching system in a highly regulated environment, working with product, engineering, clinicians, and policy teams to turn clinical workflows and regulatory constraints into clear product direction.
TL;DR
Clinicians relied on an outdated matching system that forced manual workarounds and put viable organs at risk. I led the modernization of the organ-matching experience, translating clinical workflows and regulatory constraints into decision-critical data that reduced response times by 50%. This was the single component of UNOS’s five-part federal contract that was renewed.
What we shipped
Methodologies → Interviews, Focus groups, Field studies, Design workshops, Usability testing, Product analytics
Signal-driven criteria:
Tunable filters lead to fewer irrelevant alerts, so medical teams received higher quality alerts, leading to faster responses.
Real-time snapshot:
A concise, data-backed snapshot of the patients at decision time increased the confidence to act, leading to fewer stalled decisions.
Role-based dashboards:
Customizable role-specific saved views with recommended next-best-action increased clarity, reduced the number of clicks to action, increasing adoption.
Outcomes
Noise down, focus up changes cut response time by ~50%.
Although UNOS ultimately lost four of five contract areas, this work preserved ownership of the national matching system and data—the competitive edge that continues to power objective, life-saving organ allocation across the United States.
How I Drove Alignment
Decision-ready readouts: Short, story-first summaries that tied insight to action.
Shared prioritization matrix: Made trade-offs explicit (signal quality vs. volume) so stakeholders stayed aligned.
User Problem-