Len’s Local Health: Donor chain could help with transplant waiting list

(WYTV) – More than 90,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the U.S., but the demand is greater than the supply. Maybe living donor chains can help.

Every 10 minutes someone is added to the National Kidney Transplant waiting list. A living donor chain can be a great way to increase the number of available organs for transplant.

“A living donor chain is when someone altruistically donates a kidney, meaning a kidney with not a specific individual in mind. That can start a chain effect of donors,” said Dr. Shennen Mao. a physician of transplant surgery at the Mayo Clinic.

A donor chain can start when someone donates on behalf of a friend or family member, but he’s not a direct match for the recipient.

The incompatible donor then donates her kidney to another person who is a match, while the original recipient gets a kidney from another compatible donor in the chain.

There’s no limit to the chain reaction.

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