Who Gets A Kidney? Organ Transplant Policy May Change

NBC News:

The way that donated kidneys are allocated to patients needing transplants might be changed next year, so that the fittest organs would be given to those likely to live the longest with the donated organ. That was the announcement today from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the nonprofit organization that manages organ donations in the U.S.

Read the whole story at NBC News

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Comments

[omnimax]

07:45 PM on 09/22/2012

If what I have read about 3D printers being able to create human organs is accurate this policy may become moot.

[Micheleth]

06:04 PM on 09/21/2012

This has been in the works for a while now. As someone who is the daughter, mother and potential recipient of a kidney transplant I have mixed feelings. There are a lot of factors involved in these decisions. It is not just the age and potential life span of a kidney patient that should be considered. When my son was recovering from his transplant we saw people who were already not taking care of their new organs. They were having trouble taking their meds regularly and totally unable to follow basic dietary cautions. As someone who will be competing for a kidney in a few years I have no problem with someone younger and healthier being in line in front of me as long as they are willing to take good care of the kidney they receive. There are so few organs available and so many in need.

[mdennish]

05:34 PM on 09/21/2012

A 30 yr old person deserves a transplant more than a 70 yr old. Makes sense to me.

[tatoolman32]

06:46 PM on 09/27/2012

Unless that 70 year old is YOUR mother or father......then you may feel differently.

[felide]

02:43 PM on 09/21/2012

i was never a fan of baseball but that case about mickey mantle still sickens me . ! the fact that people including children can wait years, even die on organ transplant waiting lists while rich people, celebrities, can skip to the front of the line cause they are considered ' just more important ' is monsterous. they should have given chenney a beef-heart and let someone else have the one he got.!