Organ transplants up in Columbus, nationally

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | JoAnn Viviano

BARBARA J. PERENIC/DISPATCH FILE PHOTO   Marcus Bozeman, who is both an organ donor (kidney) and recipient (heart), spoke in front of Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center in April before the Columbus Torch Run for Life, which raises awareness for organ donation.

Buoyed by the generosity of deceased donors, organ transplants across the United States reached a record high in 2016, for the fourth year in a row.

Preliminary numbers released recently by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) indicate that 33,606 transplants were performed in 2016, up from 30,973 the previous year, an 8.5 percent increase. Transplantation took a bigger jump in Ohio, rising from 1,231 in 2015 to 1,360 in 2016, an increase of 10.5 percent.

The increase signifies the generosity of people willing to donate, as well as medical advancements that have enabled surgeons to consider organs that might not have been suitable a few years ago, said Kent Holloway, chief executive of Lifeline of Ohio, the organization that coordinates organ donations in the Columbus area.

“It’s important to remember that while we are celebrating the increase in transplants, the need for donation is still critical,” he added. “Today 119,056 are on the (national) waiting list for transplants and statistically 22 people die every day waiting for a transplant.” Continue reading

from Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog℠ http://ift.tt/2jippUS