In America, many usable organs go unrecovered or are discarded
When LiveOnNY receives a call, it presents an opportunity amidst death. The organization receives calls from approximately 100 hospitals in and around New York City regarding individuals who are deceased or dying while on a ventilator, such as stroke patients, gunshot victims, and car crash fatalities. These individuals’ organs have the potential to save the lives of sick individuals. However, most of them are not registered donors, so the staff at LiveOnNY must convince their families to donate and then quickly transport the organs to transplant centers. Time is of the essence, as a heart can only survive outside the body for up to six hours. Kidneys have a longer lifespan and can be transported via commercial flights.
LiveOnNY is just one part of a network that facilitates the transfer of organs from deceased individuals to sick patients. While America has a higher number of deceased donors compared to its population, this statistic does not account for the type of death. Considering America’s high rates of drug overdoses, car accidents, suicides, and shootings, which are more conducive to organ donation, America may not appear as exceptional in this regard.
In reality, the system could be more efficient. Last year, over 36,000 organs from deceased donors were transplanted, but it is estimated that there are at least twice as many unrecovered organs that could potentially be used. Tapping into this supply would help meet the significant demand, as there are currently 103,000 people waiting for an organ. Approximately one-tenth of these individuals die while waiting or are removed from the list due to their deteriorating health. Ignoring the “gap between the donors that we know are out there and the donors that we’re actually finding,” as stated by Seth Karp, director of Vanderbilt University’s transplant center, is morally unacceptable. Even small increases in organ donations could eliminate deaths on heart, lung, and liver waiting lists and reduce the average wait time for a kidney, which currently stands at four years.
2023-09-16 10:17:37
Source from www.economist.com
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