Change in Kidney Transplant Policy

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/health/25organ.html?_r=1&ref=health

Kendall Roberson

In a new proposal being considered by the United State's organ transplant network, younger patients would be more likely than older ones to get the best kidneys. The current policy is the "first-come-first-serve" deal. Whoever comes first to get a kidney transplant, young or old, will get the best kidney's provided. The point of this is to match the life expectancies of the kidney's with the patients receiving them, to ensure a closer range of years left to live. For example, if a 77 year old gets an 18 year old kidney and dies with many years left in the kidney, the kidney is still working in the dead person's body; which is a waste of a "new" kidney. The newer kidney's will be given to the people with the highest range of life expectancies left in their life.

I believe the concept of the kidney transplant to younger patients is good, but it's coming across as not caring about the older people. I agree with the longer life expectancy of putting younger kidney's in younger people, but it's kind of giving the older people the cold shoulder. It's making it sound like the doctors don't care about how much life they have left in them. The matching of the life expectancies is a good idea, but if the organ transplant network can follow through with it is the question. The "new" kidney in an older person isn't helping the younger people, which have more years left to live. I think the first-come-first-serve tactic is a better tactic than the younger-the-better-kidney-you-get tactic.