Dr. Marie Hilliard, RN, NCBC Senior Ethicist, has been appointed to the Ethics Committee of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), a regulatory agency responsible to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Dr. Hilliard will serve as an At Large member, joining eighteen other professionals including other At Large and regional representatives of the U.S. As an At Large member Dr. Hilliard will represent the general membership or the public on issues of interest or concern. The Ethics Committee guides the OPTN Board of Directors concerning OPTN policies and practices related to organ donation, procurement, distribution, allocation, and transplantation so they are consistent with ethical principles.

Dr. Hilliard is well qualified to be a contributing member in providing such guidance. She continues, since 2006, to serve as an ethicist with NCBC, responsible for its efforts to shape public policy impacting the life sciences, most significantly health care regulation, including policies impacting organ procurement and donation. She has been administratively involved in governmental health care regulation at both the state and national levels. As a Registered Nurse she remains active professionally, and has served as president of professional nursing organizations. She currently is a member of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Medical Association, and co-chairs its Ethics Committee. As Colonel Hilliard (USA, Army Ret.) she has served our country for over twenty years, responsible for medic and nursing training for hundreds of soldiers. She holds the Meritorious Service Medal.

Dr. Hilliard stated: “I am so pleased that OPTN has recognized the importance of including an ethicist, such as myself, who not only is an academically and experientially prepared professional, but also is credentialed in religious studies and canon law. The welcoming I have received from my new colleagues demonstrates to me an appreciation of the role that a faith-based perspective can provide in approaching some of the most critical questions impacting humanity.”

NACN-USA congratulates Dr. Hilliard on this key appointment. We are very grateful for her service and her willingness to share her extensive knowledge and experience with both OPTN and the NACN-USA ethics committee. Dr. Hilliard provides NACN-USA with numerous opportunities to sign onto letters, public comments, and amicus briefs that address the most urgent needs of the Catholic Church. In her appointment to the ethics committee of OPTN, we are confident that Dr. Hilliard will continue to fight to protect the dignity of all human beings and their right to life while helping OPTN navigate the complicated and challenging issues surrounding organ procurement and transplantation.