Rare 9-way Kidney Swap a Success

Okian Warrior sends news that a complex set of 18 surgeries has been successfully completed at California Pacific Medical Center and the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center that resulted in nine donors sending kidneys to recipients in need. This web of kidney swaps arose because many of the people with failing kidneys had donors willing to help them, but weren't a biological match. Rather than give up on the transplant altogether, doctors were able to arrange the willing donors in a way such that each patient who needed a kidney was able to get one. "Software matching programs have been driving the trend. The programs use blood type and other patient data from medical tests to connect people who are compatible."

Comments

Re:Piss-poor situation

[Anonymous Coward]

Beautiful libertarianism. The life saving organ transplants go to the wealthiest first, it's the free market and it's the fairest way.

Re:Piss-poor situation

[AuMatar]

Better solution- make all organs automatically donated upon death. The owners don't need them anymore. Then no money needs to be involved at all, and we'd have a ready supply. The family can get what's left of the body after any usable organs have been harvested. Bonus- a system that's actually fair, rather than making money the determining factor.