Number of Organ Donations in Steep Decline

According to official statistics, it would appear that the number of living organ donors has been significantly reduced over the last five years. Data seem to indicate that only 6,219 individuals were enrolled in such programs in 2008, as opposed to the 7,000 registered in 2004. This decrease is very worrying, as nearly every single person that retires is equal to a death sentence for another human being. Additionally, experts say, the already-large gap between supply and demand appears to be widening even further, LiveScience reports.

This could have significant negative consequences for people in desperate need of a new lung, liver or kidney. Many of these individuals may be forced to turn to alternative “markets” for obtaining organs, such as buying stolen organs, or undergoing surgery in conditions that jeopardize their life. However, analysts say that the practice is unlikely to stop anytime soon, as people would generally go through any kind of ordeal just to remain alive. Furthermore, a new comparative analysis of the way organ transplant procedures took place between 1999 and 2008 revealed worrying trends.

For the first time in the study period, the number of available donors decreased in 2008. Before that, it had increased every year – by a slow margin, but an increase nonetheless. “This decline has resulted in a widening gap between the number of organs available for transplant, and the number of patients who are awaiting a donor organ,” explains the director of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Comprehensive Transplant Center in Los Angeles, Andrew S. Klein, MD. He was also the author of the new investigation, details of which appear in the latest online issue of the American Journal of Transplantation, LiveScience reports.

What's more, the work managed to identify some of the most severe obstacles that currently prevent more people from signing up for organ donation. One of the most important one is money, as some laws are devised in such a way that people who want to save lives actually have to pay more to do so, rather than being compensated for their noble efforts. Another is the fact that most people still have an incorrect perception on the donation process, which makes them afraid of the end result, and generally reluctant to accept the procedure.

“This study showed that many people have questions and concerns about organ donation. Educating the public and improving transparency of the organ donation and transplantation process and performance are critical to narrowing the donor organ gap,” Klein concludes.