Organ Transplant Centers around the United States (and elsewhere) have varying polices, procedures, screening requirements and timelines. Some centers are only available to screen potential living organ donors during limited hours, 3 days a week, on the phone, and this leads to inconsistencies and increased deaths.

Some centers do all questionnaires online, 24/7, deliver vouchers for public transportation to off-site medical facilities to hasten the screening process (i.e. MRI). These centers should be held in high esteem, and those streamlined processes should be the standard for ALL facilities participating in living organ donation surgeries.

So WHY does one center only conduct phone interviews with ONE staff member for limited hours, 3 days a week? Another center is swift and has policies and procedures that effectively and quickly result in better approval timing, and faster transplant for recipients who would otherwise die.

Why is living donation sought as an early option at some centers, and left as a dead last back-up plan at others? Recipients are often too sick at that point, and would have survived with an early live donor who was completely evaluated and identified as a match.

LESS THAN 33% of living donor kidney transplants occur before dialysis starts, despite the existence of kidney donation "chains."

Altruistic living liver donations are few and far between, because the surgery is more risky and performed even less. Regardless, potential recipients and their families deserve to have potential donors screened in a timely and efficient manner. Insurance shouldn't be an excuse to get this lifesaving screening completed.

Please help us streamline the living donor screening process. It will save many lives.