Altruistic Donation Sets In Motion 60-Person Chain Of Kidney Transplants.

ABC World News (2/20, story 8, 3.40, Sawyer) reported the "biggest kidney donor marathon in history. It's the incredible algebra of human kindness -- one person deciding to save a life of a stranger whose family, in turn, saves the life of another stranger and on and on. All you need is the stranger who starts it."

        On its front page, the New York Times  (2/19, A1, Sack, Subscription Publication) delved with great detail in a lengthy story into "the longest chain of kidney transplants ever constructed, linking 30 people who were willing to give up an organ with 30 who might have died without one." The Times pointed out, "What made the domino chain of 60 operations possible was the willingness of a Good Samaritan, Mr. [Rick] Ruzzamenti, to give the initial kidney, expecting nothing in return. Its momentum was then fueled by a mix of selflessness and self-interest among donors who gave a kidney to a stranger after learning they could not donate to a loved one because of incompatible blood types or antibodies. Their loved ones, in turn, were offered compatible kidneys as part of the exchange."

        "Chain 124, as the linked procedures were called, was carried out in a series of operations which took place between August 15 and December 20 last year," the UK's Telegraph  (2/21, Prince) reports. The Telegraph adds, "There are around 400,000 Americans with kidney failure who currently undergo daily dialysis, and 4,500 die each year while waiting for a transplant."

        Experts Say Single, Nationwide Registry Of Kidney Donors Is Needed. In a related story, the New York Times  (2/19, Sack, Subscription Publication) reported, "Many of the most prominent names in the field of kidney transplantation agree that the way to maximize the number of transplants through paired exchanges is to create a single, nationwide registry. That, they note, would vastly expand the pool of potential matches among transplant candidates who have willing but incompatible donors." Still, "more than a decade after the first organ swap in the United States, the transplant world remains disjointed, with competing private registries operating with little government oversight or regulation. The federal government started a paired exchange pilot project in late 2010, but it lags far behind nonprofits like the National Kidney Registry in making successful matches." The Times noted, "Whether the disparate groups will join forces is uncertain. But the continuing fragmentation may be preventing potential transplant matches."