Severe organ shortage

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/125618.html

Organs can only be harvested in very specific cases. They have to be
disease free, and the time of death has to occur shortly before the
time of transplant. Also, even if “number of organs”=”number of
transplantees”, there would not be enough organs, since the organ must
match the transplantee or it will be rejected by his/her body. Not an
easy thing to accomplish, as I understand it.

Waiting For Organ Transplant Leads Some to Desperation

Edward Lawrence, Reporter
Waiting For Organ Transplant Leads Some to Desperation

Updated: var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate(“May 9, 2008 11:05 PM EST”); document.write(wn_last_ed_date);

Parents would do just about anything to save a child’s life. But what if it
meant breaking the law? Today. there are more than 106,000 people
waiting on a list for organ transplants that could save their lives.

Nineteen people die each day because they did not get a compatible organ in time.

Some parents are willing to do anything it takes to find a kidney for their son. Eyewitness News
caught up with a local man handing out a flyer in front of the
courthouse. It asks that people with blood type “O” or “B” sign up to
be a kidney donor for his son. If there’s a match, it also offers a
hefty reward.

The desperation for a kidney led one set of
parents to the Regional Justice Center. A father handing out the flyers
on the street — the offer, a $20,000 reward for a kidney match.

The
family, who does not want to go on camera, says they are trying
everything to save their son — even if it means breaking the law.

Claudia
Swift is the Sunrise Transplant Coordinator. “To actually pay for the
organ itself, it is illegal,” she said. She sees this kind of
desperation every day.

“I tell most patients it’s like
playing the lottery. You play, but you do not expect to win. When you
finally get that call — it’s really a shock. Oh my gosh, what do I
do,” said Swift.

That wait is hard. Martrel Johnson knows. He
was one of the most highly rated basketball players in the nation — in
2001, he played for Durango High School.

He needs a
kidney and moved to Wisconsin, because their in-state waiting list is
shorter. He understands why the flyer was made.

“My Dad was
like that. I am an only child. My dad took it the hardest,” he said.
Johnson has already had one transplant. Now he’s been on the list for a
year for another, because the donated kidney from his dad is failing.

“I
can understand the wait time because I have been through it before. I
was not desperate because my dad was a match. But knowing that — I
don’t have anyone that’s a match,” he said.

Swift says there will always be pressure to pay money for organs.

“More people need than donate,” she said.

A
donation that for this family could mean the difference between saving
a son’s life and breaking the law. Under federal law a person can pay
for reasonable expenses, like transportation, medical expenses, and
lost wages — just not the organ itself.

Waiting For Organ Transplant Leads Some to Desperation

Edward Lawrence, Reporter
Waiting For Organ Transplant Leads Some to Desperation

Updated: var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate(“May 9, 2008 11:05 PM EST”); document.write(wn_last_ed_date);

arents
would do just about anything to save a child’s life. But what if it
meant breaking the law? Today. there are more than 106,000 people
waiting on a list for organ transplants that could save their lives.

Nineteen people die each day because they did not get a compatible organ in time.

Some parents are willing to do anything it takes to find a kidney for their son. Eyewitness News
caught up with a local man handing out a flyer in front of the
courthouse. It asks that people with blood type “O” or “B” sign up to
be a kidney donor for his son. If there’s a match, it also offers a
hefty reward.

The desperation for a kidney led one set of
parents to the Regional Justice Center. A father handing out the flyers
on the street — the offer, a $20,000 reward for a kidney match.

The
family, who does not want to go on camera, says they are trying
everything to save their son — even if it means breaking the law.

Claudia
Swift is the Sunrise Transplant Coordinator. “To actually pay for the
organ itself, it is illegal,” she said. She sees this kind of
desperation every day.

“I tell most patients it’s like
playing the lottery. You play, but you do not expect to win. When you
finally get that call — it’s really a shock. Oh my gosh, what do I
do,” said Swift.

That wait is hard. Martrel Johnson knows. He
was one of the most highly rated basketball players in the nation — in
2001, he played for Durango High School.

He needs a
kidney and moved to Wisconsin, because their in-state waiting list is
shorter. He understands why the flyer was made.

“My Dad was
like that. I am an only child. My dad took it the hardest,” he said.
Johnson has already had one transplant. Now he’s been on the list for a
year for another, because the donated kidney from his dad is failing.

“I
can understand the wait time because I have been through it before. I
was not desperate because my dad was a match. But knowing that — I
don’t have anyone that’s a match,” he said.

Swift says there will always be pressure to pay money for organs.

“More people need than donate,” she said.

A
donation that for this family could mean the difference between saving
a son’s life and breaking the law. Under federal law a person can pay
for reasonable expenses, like transportation, medical expenses, and
lost wages — just not the organ itself.