(JAMA.2005; 294:1655-1663. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editorial: The Importance of Innovative Efforts to Increase Organ Donation
In an accompanying editorial, Arthur J. Matas, M.D., and David E. R. Sutherland, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, examine the findings by Montgomery et al.
"The individual organ recipients who undergo a successful transplantation have greatly improved expectations compared with those individuals who continue to undergo dialysis. Removing candidates from the transplant waiting list shortens the waiting time for the remainder of patients. One of the limitations of paired exchange is the small number of eligible donor/recipient pairs at each center, making finding a matched pair difficult. Regional or national matching programs would make finding pairs more probable, but including the highly sensitized blood type O candidates would require extensive laboratory testing."
"However, there are several important cautions. While transplant physicians see the tremendous benefit that organ recipients derive from a successful transplant, organ transplantation raises numerous ethical issues involving protection of the donor, informed consent, and equity in organ allocation. To date, only a limited number of long-term outcome and quality-of-life follow-up studies have been performed concerning conventional donors. Paired exchange leads to additional concerns. For example, what if one kidney fails early but the other functions
'"/>
Contact: Eric Vohr
410-955-8665
JAMA and Archives Journals
4-Oct-2005