The Shortage of Organs for Transplantation

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Abstract
THE ability to transplant solid organs successfully is one of the most miraculous accomplishments of modern medicine. For a patient with end-stage renal disease, a renal transplant offers the best chance of rehabilitation and long-term survival. Renal transplantation, which costs about one third as much as dialysis,1 is also the optimal therapy from the viewpoint of society, which now pays over $3 billion a year for the government's end-stage renal disease program.2 For those with failing hearts or livers, transplantation is even more valuable, since it is the only therapy that can replace imminent certain death with the hope of . . .