I spend a lot of time diving through the transplant data that UNOS publishes, which is marvelously easy to do on the organization’s Web site. One of my favorite stats to look up is one of the simplest ones they offer: How many living donor transplants have happened so far this year? It’s heartening to me to see those numbers, even though they represent the pain, suffering, sadness, and emotional hardship of people who needed transplants.
I suppose I enjoy following the data most because it reminds me just how not alone living donors are in this country. Case in point: As of now, UNOS reports that 87,987 living donor kidney transplants have been conducted in this country since 1988 (the earliest year UNOS includes in its online reports). 87,987! That’s about the population of Trenton, New Jersey, or Duluth, MN. That’s almost enough people to completely fill the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena or Wembley Stadium in London; it’s heftily way too many to fit into the confines of Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Imagine walking through the streets of Trenton or Duluth and knowing that every single person you encounter in the city limits is, like you, a past living kidney donor. And knowing that every year about 6,400 people will be moving to town! That’s right. If you’re donating a kidney this year as a living donor in the United States, you’re in the company of about 6,400 others. Out of a population of 301 million people in the U.S., 6,400 is not a huge number. But it’s far, far away from being alone.
For living liver donors, the numbers are smaller, largely due to the riskier nature of the surgery in the years leading up to the past few. (With new advances and increasing proof of success, I wonder how much living donation will increase for liver transplants.) To date, my living donation of my liver to Joe was one of 3,588 such transplants in the United States since 1988. About 300 happen per year. That’s hardly a city, but it’s enough to fill in a nice little section or two at a stadium. It’s more people than I’m friends with on Facebook and LinkedIn combined!
Still, the yet-relatively small numbers we represent within the greater U.S. population just underscores the importance of sticking together, of finding each other and connecting when we can.
All the nation’s living donors: Notre Dame stadium couldn’t hold us!
You know if we’re at Wembley we’d have to be singing during the entire time – I guess for a whole operation lengths. Doing the math on the kidney thing it averages out to 17.53 per day! Wow think of that, while I was there knocked out, there were probably 15 others going on…plus some poor soul who only got halfway during the day. I guess they said they’d finish up in the morning 🙂
Hey, I think living liver donors would fill up CharVegas!!! Of course, rare would the donors from said hamlet. . . alas.
Hey, I think living liver donors would fill up CharVegas!!! Of course, rare would the donors from said hamlet be. . . alas.
Great post. I had no idea there were so few liver transplants done per year (am I allowed to say that as a board member). Thank you for the education!
De-I: I hadn’t thought about it as a per-day stat — eye opening! 17 people per day plus one guy making it half way through. Nice!
Reed: Imagine RAGBRAI times TEN rolling into Charlotte. Times TEN!!!
Mindy: You’re allowed, por supuesto. Note that these are just living donor stats. There are a lot more transplants per year if you count the ones that come from donors after death.
I cannot lie, Waller, you in all of your bloggy wonderfulness, has me truly (and I’m not joking here) thinking harder and harder about that extra kidney just taking up space in me.
As I sat bedside with Dad tonight, he was saying how bummed he was that, due to his cancer, he can no longer donate blood or organs. So I struck a deal with him: since he can no longer donate blood, I’ll donate for him . . . which is a stretch for me since I really don’t dig getting stuck with needles (and that biopsy post sooo gave me the heebees). It may be totally minor compared to organ donation, but my blood is a start.
Way to go, Reed. Blood saves lives too!
Great perspective, Beck. Nice to include the photo.
Thanks for stopping by my site today! I’m so glad that Rock Chef pointed Mindy in my direction, and she, in turn, sent you my way. Your site is an amazing resource – just what I was looking for. My dad and I are now just a little more than 2 weeks away from our surgery and I’m finding that I DO actually have questions about what to expect as the donor, (even though I assured the transplant coordinator several times that I didn’t.) Through one of my blog posts, I have connected with a donor from Minneapolis who went through all of this last year and he has been extremely generous in sharing information with me. I can’t wait to read through everything you have on your sites!