Organ Transplant Demand Rises Fivefold

ByABC News
February 23, 2001, 1:21 PM

W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 23 -- The number of patients awaiting organtransplants rose more than five times as fast as the number oftransplant operations in the 1990s, the nations transplant networkreported, documenting an increasingly acute need forlivers, hearts and other organs.

The annual report by the United Network for Organ Sharing foundslow growth in the number of organs from deceased donors, while thenumber of living organ donors more than doubled between 1990 and1999. There was a continued rise in living donors who wereunrelated to the recipient.

But the number of people on the transplant waiting list greweven more quickly, as medical techniques continue to improve andmore hospitals offer transplantation.

The report, released Thursday, also found that kidneys from living donors are morelikely to survive than those from deceased donors. Thats partlybecause living donors are more carefully screened and the surgeriesare performed under more controlled circumstances,said networkspokesman Joel Newman.

In 1999, there were a total of 21,715 transplants performed inthe United States, up 44 percent from 1990.

But there were 72,310 people on the national transplant waitinglist at the end of 1999, more than three times as many as in 1990.As of Wednesday, it had climbed even higher, to 74,073.

Deaths on Waiting List Tripled

The number of deaths on the waiting list has also more thantripledfrom 1,958 in 1990 to 6,125 in 1999.

The data comes just a few weeks after Tommy Thompson, the newlyinstalled secretary of Health and Human Services, promised tolaunch a national campaign to increase organ donation. Departmentofficials are working to pull together options for Thompson, whovowed action by May.

Most efforts to date have revolved around public education,encouraging families to discuss donation before the situationarises. Others have worked to improve the relationship betweenhospitals and organ banks so that more potential donors areidentified. Research is ongoing about the best ways to approach agrieving family about donation.