WatchCats Amy Paris: Coding for Better Organ Transplants | WatchCats #7
Every day, an estimated 17 people die while waiting for an organ transplant, even as viable organs go to waste. As a deputy digital services lead at the Department of Health and Human Services, Amy Paris was working hard to bring that number down by modernizing and improving the algorithm that hospitals use to match organs with the compatible nearby donors who need them most urgently.
Her performance reviews were glowing. But in February, she was summarily fired, purportedly for “poor performance.”
Until her termination Paris had also been one of the highest ranking trans women in the federal government, and drawing on her experience and connection to the trans community to craft policies less hostile to trans folks—like the “X” gender marker on passports, and more sensitive security screenings at airports.
Have a listen to our conversation, and let us know whether it sounds like the government is more “efficient” without Amy Paris.
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