A SERVICE
OF 
California Organ
Donations Fall 13%
SAN FRANCISCO: October 1, 2000 · by TNN Medical Reporter
Virginia Baskerville
- Despite a small nationwide increase in the number of organ donors,
the number of organ donors in California has dropped 13% over a year's
time.
Transplant News Network reported on September 15
("Organ Donations Up 4% in the First Half of 2000") that Department of Health
and Human Services statistics show that organ donations across the United
States were up about 4% in the first half of 2000 compared with the first half
of 1999.
Californians represent about 17% of the 74,000 Americans
waiting for transplants of vital organs. However, the number of California
donors fell 13% during the same period that the national numbers
increased.
"What's happening in California is certainly a disturbing
trend," said Phyllis Weber, executive director of San Francisco's California
Transplant Donor Network, one of four organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in
California.
The main reason for the drop could be a lack of awareness
"about the critical shortage of individuals saying 'yes' to organ donation,"
the California Transplant Donor Network said in a statement.
To try to
reverse the state's decreasing numbers of donors, California's four OPOs are
continuing to support the development of a statewide computerized system to
register potential donors. Such a system would allow the OPOs immediate access
to the information when they need to match a donor organ with a
recipient.
The registry would also "provide a vehicle for families to
talk about organ donation and share their decision," said Janet Kappes,
executive director of Golden State Donor Services in Sacramento.
For Your Information:
- The California Transplant Donor Network's website is at
www.ctdn.org.
-
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