Tales from the OR and how Congress can help

“After 37 years as a liver transplant surgeon, and after performing more than 1,000 surgeries, I’ve come to appreciate the successes and challenges of the U.S. organ donation and transplant system.

I transplanted a liver in a young pregnant woman dying of acute liver failure who recovered and gave birth to a healthy child, and then to another child. Three years after performing my first transplant, I went scuba diving and was 100 feet below the ocean surface with that same person, who was my instructor. When we first met, his life was in my hands but suddenly mine was in his. The circle of life was never more apparent to me.

But I’ve also watched transplant centers reject organs because they came from someone who was not in optimal health – people who are obese, diabetic or had long-term cigarette and alcohol abuse – only to learn too late that their organs appeared healthy and transplantable. And I’ve waited hours for an organ to arrive before finding out it was mistakenly sent to the wrong hospital – putting my patient’s life on the line as precious time was spent getting it to the right place and then safely transplanting it just in time.”

Andrew Klein, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at United Network for Organ Sharing