??? question about mid-west registering

[Bruno]

is it true that you are more likely to get a transplant if you are registered with a program in the mid-west opposed to the east or west coast? one of hemo-buddies suggested this... they say that the east and west coasts are saturated with people in need of transplants.

[anne]

Hi Bruno, I'm not sure about the coast thing, but some states wait is much shorter than others. We live in Michigan and the wait is about 5 years. It was suggested to us to go to Ohio or Wisconsin as the wait there is only about a year. The reason we heard, was that Michigan has a helmet law and the other states don't, so they have more cadaver kidneys available. Also Michigan has a very high rate of obesity causing more kidney related illnesses meaning more kidneys are needed. You should be able to get information from your hospital staff, or dialysis center. They are the ones who suggested we also get listed in the other two states. Hope that helps! Have a great day, anne

[johnsor]

I have heard different stories concerning different areas of the country and kidney tx. I live in Illinois and was told at one of the Chicago TX centers the wait was at least 5 yrs. I had my TX in Wisconsin where the wait is around 3 yrs. This shorter wait was confirmed by the center. I think there are many variables involved.

[Anne in Va]

Sometimes the wait is not just caused by location. Some centers accept higher quality kidneys than others thus making the wait longer. You need to find out what an individual center's policy is of acceptable kidneys.

[Rachel in NY]

One of the variables is the number of organs available. The best cadavours organs come from people that are young, healthy, and have been unexpectedly killed - head trauma - in an accident, etc. Not from someone who was sick, had medical conditions, etc.

So states like FL don't have the Helmet Law - requiring all kids on bicycles to wear helmets. Well, there are LOTS of biking accidents, resulting in lots of deaths, which means lots of organs That's why in florida the wait is SO MUCH less then in NY - where we DO have the Helmet Law.. etc.

I mention the Helmet Law - bc like I've said above, that accoutns for very many organs.

But as Amanda said, different centers have different criterea for organs.. so an organ which one center will be willing to take, another will be unwilling.