Kidney Transplant Statistics

[okarol]

Thursday April 5, 2007

Kidney Transplant Statistics

Compiled by Rachel Stern
The Signal

There are approximately 70,000 individuals waiting for a kidney transplant in the United States. Kidneys are the highest-demand organ, comprising nearly two-thirds of the organ transplant waiting list. In 2005, nearly 15,000 kidney transplants were performed, with nearly half of those coming from living donors. Most people who receive a kidney transplant are between the ages of 15 and 50. The first kidney transplants were performed in 1954 in Boston and Paris by Dr. Joseph E. Murray, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1990. While approximately 77 people receive an organ transplant in the United States each day, another 17 people on the waiting list die because there are not enough organs available. There is legislation pending in South Carolina whereby prison terms for inmates who donate organs would be reduced. One kidney will get you out of jail 180 days early. According the United Network for Organ Sharing and the National Kidney Foundation, the demand for kidney transplants is continuing to rise at a record pace. More than 73,000 people are registered on the Organ Procurement Transplant Network waiting list. If the demand continues to outstrip the available supply of kidneys, only about half of the 73,000 will receive a transplant. In 2004, 3,823 listed candidates died while awaiting a kidney. Kidney transplantation is performed on patients with chronic kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease. Without long-term dialysis or a kidney transplant, end-stage renal disease is fatal. Survival rates for patients undergoing kidney transplants are 9596 percent one year post-transplant, and 91 percent three years after transplant. Up to 80 percent of people who receive a kidney transplant will be alive after five years and 54 percent will be alive after 10 years. About half of kidneys come from living donors and the other half are from deceased donors. Overall, recipients of kidneys from live donors do better than those of deceased donors. Medicines are used to suppress the immune system from rejecting the donor kidney and the medicines must be taken for the rest of the patient's life. The average time a replacement kidney will work is 10 -15 years. In addition, recent studies have shown that a typical patient will live 10-15 years longer with a kidney transplant than if they stay on dialysis. Younger patients gain more years of life, but even the oldest group for which there is data (75-year-olds) gain an average of four years of life with a kidney transplant. Significant cardiovascular disease, incurable terminal diseases and cancer will preclude a patient receiving a donated organ. In addition, candidates are typically screened to determine if they will be compliant with their medications, which are essential for survival of the transplant. People with mental illness and/or significant on-going substance abuse issues may be excluded.

- The National Kidney Foundation

- The Organ Procurement Transplant Network

- The United Network for Organ Sharing

http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=47475&format=html

[Sluff]

Live 10-15 years longer, longer than what? Do people have expiration dates now?

[Zach]

The average time a replacement kidney will work is 10 -15 years.

Very realistic assessment, though it is changing for the better.

[goofynina]

The average time a replacement kidney will work is 10 -15 years.

Very realistic assessment, though it is changing for the better.

Doesn't a live donor's kidney last longer than a cadaver? or does it matter?  i am sure alot depends on the recipient and there over all health and way of living.