Long Waits Highlight Need for Organ Donation Reform

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published October 18, 2006 at 9:24 AM PDT

Over 92,000 people are waiting for organ transplants nationwide, and the number is expected to double by 2010. Guest host Elsa Sevilla speaks to two professors of surgery about the ethics and economic

There are more than 92,000 people waiting for organ transplants nationwide. Each day, 18 of them die before getting the organs they need to stay alive. The wait in many places is over five years, and by 2010, it is expected to double. What can be done to increase the supply of life-saving organs? Is financial compensation to organ donors part of the solution? Guest host Elsa Sevilla discusses the ethics and economics of organ donation with two professors of surgery. Guests

Dr. Francis Delmonico, professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and President-elect of the United Network for Organ Sharing.
Dr. Arthur Matas, professor of surgery and director of renal transplant service at the University of Minnesota.