Sanjivan - The Organ Donation Blog

The need for kidney donation is the highest ever nowadays. UNOS reports as of January 2006 there are nearly 65,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant.

Second, kidney transplantation is very successful and has been shown to be less costly than dialysis over the long run. And, finally, living kidney donation is emerging as the preferred means of donation because:

• The waiting time for a transplant recipient can be significantly reduced.
• The procedure can be scheduled at a time convenient for both the donor and recipient.
• The quality of the donated organ tends to be superior to organs from deceased donors.
• The time between procurement of the organ and transplantation to the recipient is minimized.

All of these factors have yielded positive results for recipients. There is less rejection and lower doses of anti-rejection drugs. The transplanted kidney, or “graft,” has better odds of surviving if from a living donor, as show in the following UNOS data for kidney transplants in the U.S from 1995 to 2002.

Thanks to living donors online for this information.