Why More Than 100,000 Americans Are Waiting For Organs

There are more than 100,000 people in the United States waiting for an organ transplant, and they could be waiting a while. A little more than 50% of people waiting for an organ will receive one within five years because of the shortage of organs available. The organ donation system in the U.S. is designed to save as many lives as possible without wasting available organs, but there are built-in inequalities that affect who has access. People of color, people of lower socioeconomic status and women receive transplants at a lower rate and are also more likely to wait longer for an organ than patients with similar medical issues. The medical community has been working on ways to increase the supply by using live donors for organs like kidneys, organs from animals and even mechanical organs. Watch the video above to learn how the U.S. organ transplant system works and what we can do to increase supply while decreasing inequality.

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Why More Than 100,000 Americans Are Waiting For Organs

[mikeayers]

I donated my brother's organs, he saved 6 people's lives after he took his own.

[B]

should be paying families for their loved ones donated organs because you charge the recipients insurance over 50, 000$

[CaraMarie]

I'll keep my kidney. If someone in my family or a close friend ever needs it, I'll do it in a heartbeat but not for a stranger when i don't know what my recovery period would be.

[Misshughestrm]

Organ donation is terrifying. Growing up in the opiate crisis, i have seen some horror stories. You have to have a heartbeat to donate a heart. If my heart is beating im not dead yet. There is no anesthesia used, many coma patients that do wake up describe and remember what happened around them. I don't want my last memory to be open heart surgery with no anesthesia. This is why im not an organ donor, its not all kittens and roses. Living donation for liver and kidneys, however, is a great alternative for procurement of those organs. If I'm in a coma, let me wake up. Don't pull my plug.

[bythepricklingofmythumb]

I find it fascinating that average people can’t get organs yet wealthy people and celerities always seem to be able to find a match fairly quickly even those who have a history of drug and alcohol abuse which is supposed to disqualify you from the transplant list.

[RyanBlockb]

I feel sorry for the ladies uncle. She donated her kidney to a stranger but he's still waiting. And to answer your obvious questions, no and I'm selfish.

[JP-qmec]

You don't need two kidneys? Your heart will disagree. The brainwashing is strong. Don't skip human anatomy class.

[merieljoseph]

"You don't need two kidneys".. 😅I do. I would def donate for a loved one but not just because. She should be compensated for the donation because her uncle will still pay full price.

[StudentToucher]

That girl acting like donating your organ is no big deal

[matthewchan]

Make it so that if you want to be a donor recipient, you need to be a donar as well or else be put at the bottom of the waiting list. Screw individuals that freely take but dont give the minimum.

[mrfreelego]

The girl that donated got screwed, and sorry to say, yes you do need 2 kidneys, that's why nature gave you 2.

In regards to the UNOS CEO, please update yourself in regards to organ transportation. We currently have liver, lung and heart pumps that allow the organ to survive in a physiological state for more than 24 hrs. So the era of chucking organs in a ice chest and racing to the hospital before they go bad is gone.

[ruthperez]

Universal health care 🙏🏼
Don’t think you will never need a transplant...fight for a better system. It can be done.

[alexrodriguez]

3:57 that’s freaking weird. But the vp Cheney gets one immediately

[marquisstrongchild]

When you give my uncle a kidney, I will donate mine.

[MsSarcasticity]

Set up a system where people can donate their organs for compensation.

[TrueEnergizerBunnies]

I think part of the problem is that organs dont last forever. Once you get a transplant, that organ is only going to last so long before you need another transplant. Maybe its a few years, maybe a few decades. But it wont last a lifetime. So you have previous transplant people competing with new transplant people. And then even if you do donate, alot of transplants dont take and the recipient's body rejects it and the organ dies. Now that person is back on the list to compete with everyone else. Also most people need kidneys. A leading cause of people needing new kidneys is diabetes. Alot of people are born with diabetes or genetically inherit it, but ALOT of people get it because of horrible lifestyle choices and obesity which is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in the western world. So now you have all these new people needing transplants that could have prevented this from happening but chose not to.

Also there's ALOT of things that disqualify you from being a donor. If you dont die in a hospital, you cant donate. If you die before they can get you hooked up to machines to keep the organs alive, you cant donate. If they cant find a match, your organs go to waste. I think smoking, drugs, alcohol, and marijuana use disqualify you too as do some medications and many health issues. So yeah alot of people may opt to donate but only a few of them are going to be under the exact right circumstances to even qualify to donate.

[mvpcilo]

That girl was screwed out of her kidney. WTF

[CornellSandifer]

Well people still remember that scandal when a Rich Saudi individual cut the line with money to get an organ, I removed the donor card from behind my license.
Why it takes so long for the poor you mean right?

[topbossful]

The fact that the doctors and nurses and the insurance company themselves get paid why don’t the people that donate the actual organ get something out of it as well

[augiegirl]

13:27 This issue was addressed in the 2nd episode of this season of “The Good Doctor” (which aired on Oct. 10th).