One Man Left Kansas for a Lifesaving Liver Transplant–But the Problems Run Deeper

May 25, 2023

(NPR) – But despite debilitating symptoms that forced him to retire early and quit his bluegrass band, and turned him into someone his family hardly recognized, he still wasn’t nearly sick enough to get a donated liver from the national waiting list. Gray’s doctors say that’s partly because of a recent policy change that made it much harder for Kansans to get a lifesaving liver transplant.

New analysis detailing the extent of the consequences has forced renewed attention on the country’s ailing transplant coordinator and kindled debate over how to fairly distribute a limited number of organs. But some doctors say the conversation ignores deeper problems with a transplant system that has always steered transplants to the wealthiest, most advantaged patients. (Read More)