Swapping Kidneys (Kidney Donor Exchange Program)

From Reuters:

Say you wanted to donate a kidney to a relative, but weren't a match. Would you donate your kidney to a stranger who could use it, in exchange for a kidney from one of their relatives that was a match to your kin?

A new Living Donor Kidney Exchange Program launched earlier this month by the New York Organ Donor Network will allow potential kidney donor-recipient pairs who are not suitable for reasons such as mismatched blood type to be matched with other willing donor-recipient pairs...

The new program will address this problem by allowing a type A individual, who is willing but unable to donate an organ to a type B family member or friend, to donate his or her organ to a type A individual on the kidney transplant list. In turn, a type B willing donor who was unable to help his or her type A loved one will now be able to donate a kidney to the family member or friend of the type A donor.

The two transplants would be performed simultaneously...

Technorati Tags: Organ Transplantation, Kidney Transplantation