Marie Hilliard, Ph.D, RN Appointed to OPTN’s Ethics Committee

June 17, 2026

Dr. Marie T. Hilliard, RN, co-chair of CMA’s Ethics Committee and a member of the CMA Board of Directors, 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 18 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 The National Catholic Bioethics Center, 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. As Colonel Hilliard (USA, Ret.) she served for over twenty years and was responsible for medic and nursing training for hundreds of soldiers. She holds the Meritorious Service Medal.

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