Opinion: Reforming and improving organ transplant systems will save lives, taxpayer dollars
Every day, 33 people — disproportionately people of color — die in the U.S. as they wait for organ transplants. Most of these deaths, and the suffering that precedes it, are preventable. Given that Covid-19 causes organ failure, the problem is only going to get worse.
The majority of people currently waiting for organ transplants need kidneys. As people languish on transplant waiting lists, Medicare now spends $36 billion each year on dialysis, which acts like an external kidney. Not only would more kidney transplants save lives, each transplant would save taxpayers as much as $1.45 million per person through avoided dialysis.
