Expanded Criteria Organs May Soon Make the Donor A-List

By Rachel Stockton rachels at foodconsumer dot org

Out of necessity, transplant physicians have begun expanding the criteria for viable kidneys; the urban legend of the business man waking up in a hotel room without a kidney notwithstanding, there is a woeful shortage of donor kidneys.  The CDC says that in 2000, there were 100,000 cases of kidney failure, but only 14,000 kidney transplants were performed.  Last year, 16,000 transplants were performed with 81,000 patients still on the waiting list.

Though it may be surprising to some, those who receive a kidney transplant rather than regular dialysis treatments have a better quality of life.  Dialysis patients are plagued with a variety of ailments, such as anemia, sores at the dialysis site, fatigue, etc., while transplant recipients fare much better.  They also tend to live longer.

The new trend is to consider organs that may not be on the A-list, but that are still viable.  For example, although a twenty year old with kidney failure might not be a good candidate for a 60-year old kidney, an 86 year old patient just might be.

The CDC is predicting a continued crisis if things remain “as usual” in the world of kidney transplants.  By 2010, the number of kidney failure patients is expected to reach 650,000 at a cost of $28 billion dollars.  Last year, 11% of all kidney transplants involved using kidneys with expanded criteria; the numbers will likely increase in the coming years.

One of the reasons for the explosion in kidney failure patients is the fact that baby boomers are growing older.  The two greatest contributors to end stage kidney failure are somewhat age related:  hypertension and diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes typically occurs in older patients, and untreated hypertension wreaks havoc to the kidneys over time.   This translates into the over 60 set being the fastest growing age group appearing on transplant lists.