Kidney Transplantation

For people who have lost their kidney function, their options are to go on dialysis (which removes waste products and excess fluid from the blood, as would a healthy kidney) or receive a kidney transplant. Not everyone is medically suitable to receive a kidney transplant, but if you are, you can ask that your name be placed on the national transplant waiting list.

The waiting list is maintained by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), which is operated by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in Richmond, VA, under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The OPTN lists all people throughout the country who are waiting for an organ transplant, and assists with matching donated organs with people in need of transplants.

The OPTN and UNOS are in close contact with organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and transplant centers throughout the country. OPOs play an important role in the transplantation process. Once a potential donor has died or has suffered “brain death,” the hospital caring for that person notifies the local OPO, which then asks the person’s family whether they would like to donate the person’s organs. (It helps if the person had previously expressed a desire to his/her family to be an organ donor.) If the family gives its consent, the OPO notifies the OPTN that organs are available.

The OPTN then searches its computer databases to match the donated organs with potential recipients. When potential recipients are identified, the OPTN contacts a number of transplant centers (where the actual transplants are performed), letting them know that organs are available. People on the transplant waiting list who would be a good match for the donated organs also are notified, along with their physicians.

Did you know?

...The need for donor kidneys is higher among minority populations such as African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. This is because certain diseases that lead to kidney failure (diabetes, high blood pressure) are more common among these people than in the general population. The odds of obtaining a suitable kidney for transplant are higher when both the donor and potential recipient are of the same ethnic background.

• African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Pacific Islanders are three times more likely than Caucasians to develop kidney disease
• Native Americans are four times more likely than Caucasians to suffer from diabetes, the leading cause of kidney failure.
• African Americans are more likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure), the second leading cause of kidney disease.
• While African Americans account for only 13% of the U.S. population, they comprise more than one-third (35%) of the kidney transplant waiting list.

 

Factors Affecting Time on the Waiting List

Living Donation

Considerations to Keep in Mind