Highway Accidents, Homicides Produce Fewer Organ Donors Under 18

As the waiting lists transplants grow, the rate at which highway accidents and homicides are producing organ donors under age 18 has dropped by almost one-third over the past decade, according to statistics compiled by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

The transplant network did not begin keeping records of the causes of death of cadaver donors until 1994, when air bags, tougher laws on seat bels, and campaigns against drunk driving already were producing a decline in traffic deaths. The homicide rate was already dropping at that point as well.

But the change even since 1994 -- a 28 percent decrease among young people, the donors who are most likely to have organs that are ideal for transplantation -- has drawn considerable attention among the transplant community.

"The number of young donors has definitely declined," Dr. Stuart M. Greenstein, chairman of UNOS organ availability committee, told the New York Times."We don't have so many young people getting killed, and that's a wonderful thing that we can all celebrate, but it also really highlights the need for more people to donate."

As a result of the decrease in younger donors, transplant surgeons now accept organs that would have been declined a decade ago, and an increasing percentage of cadaver organs come from donors over 50 or even older.

"Now, when I hear a 70-year-old's liver is available, I say, `Great, let's have a look,' " Dr. Patricia Sheiner, director of the liver transplant program at Westchester Medical Center, told the Times.

"A few years ago, I wouldn't even have considered it," Sheiner said. We've been forced to learn how to make that work. I'd much rather have a young organ, but there are fewer of them available."

Other Sources: UNOS, New York Times