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Bias against older organ donors may be leading to smaller organ supply for transplants

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Organ procurement organizations and transplant centers were about 5% less likely to choose organs from 70-year-old donors compared to those who were just a year younger.

American transplant centers as well as organ procurement organizations, the groups responsible for recovering organs from deceased donors in the United States, were less likely to accept or select organs from donors who were 70 years old when they died compared to those who were 69, new research found.

This is an example of left digit bias, a common type of unconscious bias that involves placing value based on the first digit in a number and thus is often linked to ageism.
Read the full story from University of Michigan Health.

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Turning Tragedy into Connection, a Donor Family Bonds with a Transplant Recipient

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When Sara Miller was 12, her sister, Laura, was diagnosed with brain cancer and died within days at a hospital in Milwaukee. Shocked and reeling, Sara’s family was asked by the hospital’s organ procurement coordinator if they wanted to donate Laura’s organs.

The Miller family had never discussed organ donation before, but Sara felt certain that Laura, a high school freshman, would have wanted to help save a life. “I grasped onto the idea that she could potentially make a difference,” says Sara, who encouraged her parents to say yes, which they did. “It was a tiny glimmer of hope amid a terrible day.”
Read the full story on CareDx.com here.

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How organ donations broke records even during the pandemic

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Last fall, Jeff Hackman’s kidney disease turned serious. He felt tired all the time, got winded easily. Years earlier, his older sister, Dawn Martin of Marietta, made a promise: when the time comes, she would gladly donate one of hers. Within a few months, the siblings, who were a good match, passed a battery of tests, and a surgery date was set for Dec. 8.

But with omicron sweeping through the country at a dizzying pace, the siblings were filled with worry about the timing for this life-saving procedure, concerned the pandemic could delay the surgery or even thwart the procedure indefinitely. Click here to read the story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Organ donation: how to register and have conversations with loved ones

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In January, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine announced the first peer-reviewed research outlining the successful transplant of genetically modified pig kidneys into a brain-dead human individual.

Notably, the study recipient, Jim Parsons, had two genetically modified pig kidneys transplanted in his abdomen after his native kidneys were removed. This research was successful because Parsons opted to be an organ donor, a choice that affected the course of transplantation. Although his organs were not viable for transplantation, Parsons’ body was donated to science after his family agreed to allow him to be part of the world’s first-of-its-kind xenotransplantation study with Legacy of Hope at UAB Hospital. Read more.

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Debunking myths about organ donation

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As of 2020 there were more than 183,000 people in the United States on the national organ transplant waiting list. While it can be difficult to think about donating your organs and tissue, becoming a donor can offer a precious second chance at life to many patients.

Unfortunately, various opinion polls show there is a significant gap between the number of people who support the idea of organ donation and the number of people who actually register. Read more.

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Gene Pierce – The Legacy of an Organ Donation, Transportation, and Transplantation Pioneer

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60 years ago, Gene Pierce was a Sunday school teacher and Boy Scout troop leader in his free time. For his day job, he worked in the marketing department at Chesapeake Pulp and Paper Mill in West Point, Virginia—where he was instrumental in developing Green Life Fertilizer.1

When Gene found out that he and his wife were expanding their family to five children, he realized he needed to make a little more money. There happened to be two job openings at the time that interested him: One at the railroad company and the other at Medical College of Virginia (MCV). Read the full story.

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On National Donor Day, organ recipient breaks down misinformation

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On New Year’s Day, USC junior Selah Kitchiner floated down Colorado Boulevard on a conveyance both dazzling and ephemeral. The purple and gold 2022 Donate Life Rose Parade float was covered in roses, sunflowers and seaweed with Venetian columns and arches that rose two stories. Kitchiner was just above street level, posing as a gondolier, oar in hand. No rowing was required, though she did plenty of waving during her hour-long Rose Parade ride.

“I waved to anybody with a USC chair or sweatshirt, anybody who made eye contact,” Kitchiner said. “If a spectator was daydreaming and they saw me wave at them, they would kind of snap out of it.” Read the full story.

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