There are more than 110,000 Americans on the transplant waiting list. Of those, 87,000 need kidneys – and each year, only 17,000 Americans get a kidney transplant. More than 4,600 people die because they did not receive a kidney in enough time.
So...17000 people get kidneys/year. Right now, it's first come, first served...almost. You still need to afford the operation... so it's money first and then first come...
They're thinking of changing the 2nd part to age/general health instead of just 'Number 4573, please move to operating room 4'.
If the guy in line ahead of you is an overweight alcoholic with HEP-B in his 70's, it doesn't matter that he's likely to die within 8 months, he's first in line so he's next.
If you die before it's your turn, it doesn't matter that you're a 20 year old marathoner in perfect health otherwise - you didn't get sick early enough.
What a shame.
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Ya know that little organ donor bit on the back of your drivers license? Sign it. Makes all this BS go away. A shame really that 2,423,712 people die/year in the USA alone and they still can't find more than 17,000 kidneys for transplant (including from overseas).