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This is for US but you can get on multiple lists at the same time. However you have to be able to travel to that center on a short notice. And there might be fa
by pkaye 6y ago
This is for US but you can get on multiple lists at the same time. However you have to be able to travel to that center on a short notice. And there might be false calls where things don't work out. So most people can't list beyond the local and adjacent regions within a few hours of driving distance. However you can switch regions and carry your wait time credit over.
As for why the region-by-region setup probably because its a big country and patients can't travel from one side to another. Also its difficult to change because any change results is someone having increased wait time. And some of the states don't like to share their organ streams with others. The reality is those states with larger organ pool is because more people die there for whatever reason.
I've also been told that only a small percent of deaths result in viable organs for donation. I think like 2 out of 1000 is what a transplant coordinator told me.
- himynameis12345 6y agoA lot of the reason for the region by region waitlist is what you said, to make sure you are capable to get into the hospital within a certain amount of time to receive the organ. The other part is that it takes time to physically move an organ from the deceased to the transplanting hospital. Time is the key here, the more time the organ is not in a living body, the less likely it is to survive transplantation. So if we didn't have regions, and you were living in San Fransisco and a kidney came from a dead biker in Florida, the likelihood of the kidney surviving is less than if that kidney came from Sacramento.
- walshemj 6y agoWhen I was waiting at the royal free (UK) , one of the doctors doing my bloods for compatibility - mentioned they had people fly down from Aberdeen. And not all of a donors kidneys are ok two of us got called and only one kidney was viable.