Pages

Friday, October 5, 2012

Experts: More Discarded Kidneys Could Be Implanted If System Were Improved.


On its front page, in a more than 2,600-word article, the New York Times Share to FacebookShare to Twitter (9/20, A1, Sack, Subscription Publication) reports that "many experts agree that a significant number of discarded kidneys -- perhaps even half, some believe -- could be transplanted if the system for allocating them better matched the right organ to the right recipient in the right amount of time." They argue that "the current process is made inefficient...by an outdated computer matching program, stifling government oversight, the overreliance by doctors on inconclusive tests and even federal laws against age discrimination." This leads to "a system of medical rationing that arguably gives all candidates a fair shot at a transplant but that may not save as many lives as it could."
        Organ Procurement Organization's Efforts In Meeting Growing Demand Highlighted. The New York Times Share to FacebookShare to Twitter(9/20, A20, Sack, Subscription Publication) reports on the "complex business of procuring organs," highlighting one particular nonprofit agency, LifeSource, which offers services in Minnesota and the Dakotas. The article notes that the budgets for nonprofit procurement organizations are funded through "philanthropic contributions and charges to hospitals that perform transplants." The Times says that "simple math dictates that LifeSource's staff of 135 must treat every donation opportunity as precious," adding that "about 20,000 people died in hospitals in the region last year, but only 1,900 were eligible for donation because their organs had been kept functioning after brain death," Meg Rogers, the agency's director of procurement, said.

No comments:

Post a Comment