LifeCenter Northwest

All patients waiting for a transplant in the United States have equal access to donated organs. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) manages a computerized network that impartially matches organ donors with potential transplant recipients. More than 110,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list for an organ transplant, including over 1,600 in the Northwest alone.

Every potential recipient waiting for an organ transplant is listed with UNOS. Transplant centers and organ recovery organizations across the country are part of this national network.

At the time of donation, a thorough medical and social history of the donor is completed. LifeCenter Northwest puts medical information about the organ donor into the computer, which generates a computerized match list.

This list gives names of potential transplant recipients in order of priority. Matching priority is based upon criteria such as the severity of the patient’s illness, length of time waiting for the transplant, blood type, and size of the organ. Genetic tissue matching is a key factor for kidney and pancreas transplants, with which a match is critical to minimize the risk of organ rejection.

After printing the list of potential recipients, LifeCenter Northwest contacts the transplant surgeon caring for the first patient on the list to offer the organ. Laboratory tests designed to measure the compatibility between the donor organ and the recipient are necessary for some transplants. A surgeon will not accept the organ if these tests show that the patient’s immune system will reject it.

If the organ is turned down, the next transplant center on the potential recipient list is contacted, and so on until the organ is placed. Once the organ is accepted for a patient, transportation arrangements are made and transplantation surgery is scheduled.

Transplant waiting times can vary from a few months to years.