Strategies for Making More Organs Available for Transplantation

Abstract

Organ transplantation has evolved rapidly from the first early successes¹ to the current widespread use of donated organs for the treatment of end-stage kidney, heart, and liver failure. With limited supplies of organs and an increasing demand for them, however, many patients who need transplants do not receive them (Figure 1).² Each year, about 3000 patients in the United States die while waiting for an organ transplant, and about 100,000 potential candidates for transplantation die before they are placed on a waiting list.² There is an 11 percent annual increase in the number of patients placed on waiting lists for . . .