Four UNOS researchers examined delays in timely access to transplantation for some prior living donors who later require a transplant themselves. Their study is published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Prior living donors who later need a deceased donor kidney transplant receive very high allocation priority. To be listed for this priority, transplant programs must submit a request to UNOS. Any delay in a program’s submission may delay timely access to transplantation. The authors (Jennifer Wainright, Ph.D., David Klassen, M.D., Anna Kucheryavaya, M.S., and Darren Stewart, M.S.) studied OPTN and CMS data to examine the timing of priority requests for 210 prior living donors who were added to the kidney waiting list over a five-year period.
While most prior living donors received priority and were actively listed for a transplant in a timely manner, a substantial number spent considerable time either actively listed for a transplant without living donor priority or listed in an inactive status. This, in turn, affects their access to timely transplantation. UNOS has implemented processes to help programs prevent future delays in requesting living donor priority.
To view the entire article, consult the following citation:
J. Wainright, D. Klassen, A. Kucheryavaya, and D. Stewart. Delays in Prior Living Kidney Donors Receiving Priority on the Transplant Waiting List. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Available online at http://cjasn.asnjournals.org.
