Op-Ed: Transplant list numbers raise doubts

March 24, 2008

Are we being sold a bill of goods about the number of patients waiting for transplants in the United States? There is reason to think so.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the Richmond, Va.-based organization that holds the federal contract for distributing organs to those awaiting transplants in the U.S. UNOS says there are about 98,000 people who need transplants. But, a recent story in the Washington Post shows that about one-third of those are actually not eligible for an organ transplant on any given day. (MSNBC)