The possibility of live organ donation began 55 years ago. Dr Joseph Murray performed that first live organ transplant in December 1954. He transplanted a healthy kidney from one identical twin to another. It was successful, giving Richard Herrick eight more years of life. He died of causes unrelated to the surgery. His brother Ronald is living in Maine.

The need for all organ transplantation has increased. In the United States, more than 84,000 men, women and children are waiting for organ transplants. To receive the needed organ, they rely on “the gift of endless possibilities.” The gift of an organ from a living or deceased donor.

In 1984, the National Organ Transplant Act established the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN), a national organ sharing system to guarantee, among other things, fairness in the allocation of organs for transplant. UNOS maintains a central computer network containing the names of all patients waiting for kidney, heart, liver, lung, intestine, pancreas and multiple-organ transplants; the UNOS "Organ Center" is staffed 24 hours a day to respond to requests to list patients, change status of patients, and help coordinate the placement of organs.

Earlier this year Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration set up an online Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Donor Registry to make it easier for Floridians to become organ donors. Now, they need only go to www.DonateLifeFlorida.org and fill out the paperwork. Florida alone has more than 3,500 waiting transplants.

The University of Michigan developed an organ matching software program in 2008. The program is designed to match an patients who need a kidney and has a family member or friend willing to donate one of his or her kidneys, but it cannot be done due to tissue or blood type incompatibilities with others in the same situation.

The five-year patient survival rate for recipients of a living kidney donor transplant is 90.1 percent. The rate for those with kidneys from a deceased donor is a little smaller, 81.9 percent. Either gives the “gift of endless possibilities” – life.

Many express two fears that keep them from being a living kidney donor: 1) What happens if my remaining kidney fails? 2) What are the expenses of being a donor?

The answer to the first question – It is rare due to the screening process for that to happen, but if it does then you will be put on dialysis and the transplant list.

The answer to the second question -- Often the medical expenses are covered by insurance, but there is no reimbursement for lost wages. If you have a job that requires physical work, you will need six weeks to recuperate.

Even if you don’t wish to be a living donor, please, consider being a donor should you die. Please, inform your family and sign your driver’s license to indicate your wish to be an organ donor. You will be giving a gift of endless possibilities.

More information about the Paired Kidney Donation Program can be found on its Web site, http://www.michigantransplant.org/kidney/paired.htm. To enroll in the program or for more information, call 734-763-4228. To participate, a blood test may be needed to provide matching information with other pairs.

Source
www.transplantliving.org
OrganTransplants.org
University of Michigan Health System Newsroom