New rules bringing kidneys to hardest-to-transplant patients
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marshall Jones, right, laughs with Dr. John Barcia in the Battle Building at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville, Va. A shake-up of the nation’s kidney transplant system is getting more organs to patients once thought nearly impossible to match, according to early tracking of the new rules.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marshall Jones, right, laughs with Dr. John Barcia in the Battle Building at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville, Va. A shake-up of the nation’s kidney transplant system is getting more organs to patients once thought nearly impossible to match, according to early tracking of the new rules.
WASHINGTON >> A shake-up of the nation’s kidney transplant system means more organs are getting to patients once thought nearly impossible to match. That’s according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing.
A year ago, the network changed how kidneys from deceased donors are distributed. The goal was to decrease disparities and squeeze the most benefit from that scarce resource.
Now the system’s tracking shows that transplants have increased among the hardest-to-match, as more kidneys are shipped around the country for them.
Also, patients expected to live the longest are being better matched to the kidneys predicted to last the longest, in hopes those recipients won’t need repeat transplants years from now.
But still, far more donated kidneys are needed for the thousands awaiting a transplant.
3 responses to “New rules bringing kidneys to hardest-to-transplant patients”
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We have the most up to date technology in the world. America should be embracing it to help those with life threatening medical conditions.
A cool tidbit-Dr. John Barcia was raised in Kailua, Oahu and graduated from `Iolani in 1981. His parents and several siblings still live in Hawaii.
No kidding! Kudos to the local for his contribution to medical science.