New report published today online in the journal Clinical Transplantation
New York, NY—October 22, 2018—The organ supply shortage is a major challenge facing the field of whole organ transplantation and affects the nearly 100,000 Americans waiting on a kidney right now. Today, a new report focused on decreasing the number of kidneys discarded aims to address some of the key factors and provides the first systematic nationwide approach to reducing kidney discards. Approximately 12 people die each day waiting for a kidney transplant while about 10 kidneys are discarded daily.
Published online today in the journal Clinical Transplantation, the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research, the "Report of National Kidney Foundation Consensus Conference to Decrease Kidney Discards" is the result of a year-long effort with leading transplantation experts in the United States devoted to solving the kidney utilization problem.
There are many reasons why kidneys are discarded including poor organ quality, abnormal biopsy findings, prolonged cold ischemic time, anatomy, punitive regulatory and payer sanctions due to poor clinical outcomes, and the increased costs associated with the use of higher kidney donor profile index (KDPI) grafts, the report points out, yet experts believe and data supports that many of these kidneys can be used for transplant. Kidney discard rates also vary upon geography leading experts to believe that the variation may be based on a subjective view of organ viability by an individual transplant team. Read full article.....
