Hello Fellow Netizens,
As we are sure you all have heard recently, a groundbreaking transplant surgery procedure was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General) on March 16th using, of all things, a genetically modified porcine (a.k.a pig) kidney! The patient is 62-year old Richard (Rick) Slayman, who has Diabetes Mellitus type II and hypertension (high blood pressure). This milestone case, led by Tatsuo Kawai, HMS professor of surgery and director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance at Mass General, is a step forward for the scientific advancement of transplant medicine. However, with this reason to celebrate comes a moment to reflect: why do we need to use genetically modified pig organs to begin with? Aren’t there enough organs out there today to match every patient with a viable donor? The short answer is, no, of course not (otherwise no one would consider using animal organs, right?). This response leads to another question: why?
Organ Shortages: The Sad Truth
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the main organization running the transplant matching system within the United States. UNOS is responsible for sourcing viable organs and maintaining a running list of patients who need them. How this list is made and who gets priority is decided by multiple stakeholders, including yourself! According to UNOS’ policy page, public opinion is taken into account in developing equitable standards for their computer-based matching algorithm (if you want to see the full policy list for each organ system, click here).
Policies should be carefully curated, especially for situations where ethical considerations are in play. For example, there was an article published on the Washington Post all the way back in 1993 (31 years ago!) that referenced a real-life medical conundrum:
“Another patient, 7-year-old Ronnie DeSillers of Florida, died in Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital in 1987 while waiting for his fourth liver transplant in less than two months. The first failed when a viral infection damaged the liver, the second failed for unknown reasons, and the third, transplanted when the boy was weakened from an abdominal infection, pneumonia and an inflamed pancreas, never “took.” At the time he died, about 150 other children were on liver transplant waiting lists.”
If you were responsible for Ronnie’s care, would you have done what his doctors did?
According to UNOS, there are currently 103,725 individuals who require an organ transplant to survive (this number is updated in real time; click here so visit their statistics page). According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), around 17 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant (that’s around 6,205 deaths in one year). The shortage of organs is not commonly discussed on a national level, although news like that of Mr. Slayman’s help raise it to the public consciousness once in awhile.
Why Should I care?
The shortage of organs in this country is an issue that hits home for many of us; you may know a friend or loved one who has had a transplant or is in need of one right now due to a chronic medical condition. One example that many of you may have heard about is kidney disease. Below are some numbers from the American Kidney Fund (if you are interested, the full statistics list can be seen here):
- 37 million Americans have kidney disease.
- About 808,000 Americans are living with kidney failure.
- More than 556,000 Americans are on dialysis
- More than 250,000 Americans are living with a kidney transplant
- Kidney disease is growing at an alarming rate. It currently affects more than 1 in 7 — or 15% — of American adults, with people of color at greater risk for kidney failure.
What can I do?
Great question! With a shortage, the most obvious answer is to increase the supply of organs. You can make an impact in two ways:
1. Post-mortem (after death): This involves you being a willing and registered organ donor when you die. According to a sample of the U.S. population, 90% of adults support organ donation but only 60% are actually signed up as donors. Interesting additional statistics include the following: Black and Asian respondents were more likely to be unregistered supporters than White, Native American, or other/multiple races respondents. Respondents with less education (ranging from postgraduate at the highest level to high school or less) were also more likely to be unregistered. (For more information, see the 2019 National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Practices.) Diversity is just as important for organ transplants as in other things in life; according to HRSA’s note on the issue:
“Shared ethnicity is NOT a requirement for matching organ donors and recipients. Matches between donors and recipients of different ethnicities are very common.
Still, a more diverse donor registry gives everyone on the transplant waiting list a better chance to find a good donor match. Because the genetic markers used to match organ donors and recipients are inherited, people with rare markers are more likely to match someone with a shared racial or ethnic background.”
2. Living Donors: You can donate while you are still alive! Using kidneys again as an example, according to organizations like the National Kidney Foundation, transplants for kidneys have less complications if they are sourced from a live donor over a deceased one. You can also be reassured that your organ was indeed given away to its intended recipient (this would be difficult to personally confirm if you were, you know, dead). If you want to learn more information on how it works or how you can be a live donor, visit the UNOS page on Living Donations here.
There is a reason why donating an organ is considered the “gift of life“; this is one of the few forms of medicine where human compassion can literally mean the difference between life or death. If you haven’t already done so, please register as an organ donor in your state and spread the word! Hopefully we can eventually live in a world where we don’t depend on genetically-modified farm animals for life-saving organs.
Featured Image: Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-doctors-doing-operation-inside-room-263337/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s own opinions and statements. They do not reflect the opinions or stances of any organization affiliated with the author.
