On Jan. 28, JAMA Surgery released an original investigation called "Survival Benefit of Solid-Organ Transplant in The United States." The results are quite amazing, showing that organ transplants have contributed to more than 2 million years of life saved across 25 years.
The study's objective was to determine the survival benefit of organ transplants by reviewing records made by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) over the course of a 25-year study that began in 1987. Also studied was the Social Security Administration Death Master File.
The study results showed that in the 25-year period, from Sept. 1, 1987 to Dec. 31, 2012, a total of 533,329 patients were recipients of a donated organ — some patients received two. Another 579,506 patients were placed on the list but did not receive an organ.
A comparison of outcomes for each group allowed the researchers to determine how much longer those in the transplant group lived due to their organ transplants. The transplant group, in total, lived an astounding 2,271,049 years more than the "no transplant" group.
In the study, there were eight transplant categories. Kidney transplant accounted for more than 50 percent of added years, while transplanting intestines accounted for the least — only 4,402 added years of life.
- Kidney: 1,372,969
- Liver: 465,296
- Heart: 269,715
- Pancreas/kidney: 79,198
- Lungs: 64,575
- Pancreas: 14,903
- Intestines: 4,402
The evidence is clear that transplanting organs adds years of life, and that recipients can enjoy, for the most part, a good quality of life. But more organs are needed to meet increasing demand for transplants that proved themselves viable and new ones being worked on in laboratories.
Not enough donors
Christopher Barry, M.D., is a researcher and a transplant surgeon who spoke at the Donate Life Annual Meeting in June 2014 in Baltimore. While transplants do save lives, Barry's message was clear: We need more donors.
His research shows that each year the number of deaths due to the organ-donor shortage is the equivalent of the number of deaths involved if there were no survivors from the crash of 22 jumbo jets. That comes to 20 deaths per day or 11,000 per year due to lack of organs.
At first glance, these numbers seem higher than those reported in the past. And they are. This stems from most studies not counting those deaths that occurred in people removed from the list as "too sick to transplant." When these patients are not counted, deaths drop to about 18 per day or 6,500 per year.
However, the higher numbers are correct, as "too sick to receive a transplant" usually means a patient on the list has taken a turn for the worse. These patients are often waiting long periods for a transplant to be available.
Dr. Abbas Rana, of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues who also worked on the study wrote, "The critical shortage of donors continues to hamper this field: only 47.9 percent of patients on the waiting list during the 25-year study period underwent a transplant. The need is increasing: therefore, organ donation must increase."
Talking about the significance of the study, Dr. Kareem Abu-Elmagd, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Transplant Center in Ohio, said: "This study highlights the importance of organ donation and shows that solid-organ transplants save lives. One organ donor can impact as many as 50 lives."
Solutions
"The field of transplantation continues to look for ways to save more lives," Abu-Elmagd said. "For instance, the ex-vivo organ perfusion program at Cleveland Clinic has been studying perfusion technology to better preserve donor organs."
Research team members from Baylor believe a more direct approach is in order to increase the donor pool. They are calling for more support for solid-organ transplant and donation calling them "worthy endeavors with a remarkable record of achievement and a tremendous potential to do even more good for humankind in the future."
