America could be experiencing an organ shortage, with approximately 100,000 people waiting on a potentially vital organ transplant, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
From that above figure, UNOS — a nonprofit organization which compiles all of the clinical information for U.S.-based hopefuls — reports that 50% of transplant candidates might have to wait up to five years to receive new organs.
According to Georgetown University, a new name requires an organ transplant every 10 minutes in America. Also, on average, 20 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant.
"Our traditional reliance on cadaveric organ donation is becoming increasingly insufficient; and in recent years, there has been a decline in the number of living donors as well as in the percentage of living donors relative to overall kidney donors," according to excerpts from a book, entitled "The Organ Shortage Crisis in America."
The research excerpts continued: "Some transplant surgeons and policy advocates have responded to this shortage by arguing for the legalization of the sale of organs among living donors."
Regarding UNOS's computer-driven waiting list, it has handled the government contract for managing the organ-donation process since 1986.
The organ-donation system is designed to "save as many lives as possible without wasting any organs."
However, officials acknowledge there are inequalities with the how the waiting list operates.
"The biggest equity challenge in transplant is the same as it is for everywhere in American health care: It's getting access to the hospital in the first place," said Brian Shepard, a former CEO of UNOS. "Transplant is not immune from any of those inequities."
According to CNBC, people of color, people of lower socioeconomic status, and women receive transplants at a lower rate than the general population.
"I think a lot of people think about organ transplants and they think, 'Oh, that's a problem for older folks,'" said Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
"If you increase the number of transplants that we do, you can have a much more productive workforce. It saves money. ... So it's a pocketbook issue for all of us," added Caplan.
Regarding the potential sale of kidney donations among living donors ...
"People have different opinions on this, but it was honestly the easiest process for me and everybody," said Katharine Manor, who reportedly donated her kidney on behalf of a mentor. "It was just really easy for me."
Another alternative gaining popularity with medical experts: CNBC reports extracting organs from pigs has helped make up for the organ scarcity among humans.
"Even though we're all fascinated by transplant, the ultimate goal is to get rid of it," said Caplan. "What you want to do is either repair using cell engineering or artificial organs that can just simply substitute for the natural organs that failed."
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