NEW YORK, NY – April 19, 2010 – The Kidney & Urology Foundation of America (KUFA) hosted a conference today at the Paley Center for Media, to reveal issues surrounding the shortage of organs available for transplantation in the U.S., and to explore solutions. Three leading experts in the field spoke to a diverse audience comprised of patients, patient advocates, physicians, transplant coordinators, nurses, medical ethicists, health policy experts and members of the general public, about topics including organ donation, transplantation, and ways to affect much-needed change in this country’s current health care policy.  Kidney disease is one of the leading medical crises in the U.S., directly related to the deaths of over 310,000 people each year. Currently, there are more than 100,000 people on the national transplant wait list - with most waiting for kidneys. The organ shortage crisis and recent events surrounding the underground market prompted a compelling conversation about existing practices in organ allocation and how health care policies evolve to address such critical problems.

“My hope is that by publically acknowledging the depth of this problem, we can reach the people who can create change,” said the panel’s moderator, Dr. Jonathan A. Winston, Associate Professor of Medicine/Nephrology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the head of KUFA’s scientific advisory board. “Right now, many patients and practitioners feel that they’re invisible and bogged down in the current system. We want these people to know that their problems are being recognized and that we’re working to develop realistic solutions.”

“Due to the huge shortage in available organs, a sense of desperation has set in, driving the current practice of organ trafficking,” said panelist Dr. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, who is known for her investigations of such organ trafficking in third world countries. “There are penalties for buying, selling and brokering the sale of organs in this country, but still it goes on, often with an attitude of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” I believe that if the laws are not going to be followed, then the laws should change. First, though, a controlled study must take place, in an ethical manner, with a sample of volunteer organ donors being compensated appropriately.”

Subjects discussed by the participants also included: how patients are prioritized on transplantation waitlists, average time spent on the waitlist, morbidity and mortality while on the waitlist, and the success rate of transplants in terms of quality and longevity of life.

Panelists included:

• David J. Cohen, M.D. – Professor of Clinical Medicine; Medical Director, Renal Transplantation, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; Member, Board of Directors and Chair, Public Policy Committee, American Society of Transplantation. Dr. Cohen discussed organ allocation, the current transplant wait list and the ways in which organ allocation policy evolves. Dr. Cohen’s special interest is in immunosuppressive drug protocols in renal transplantation and the incidence of renal disease in recipients of non-renal transplants. He is currently involved in clinical protocols investigating new immunosuppressive drugs and new combinations of existing medication used in renal transplant patients, both those newly transplanted and those with long-term functioning transplants.
• Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Ph.D. – Chancellor’s Professor in Medical Anthropology, Head, Doctoral Program in Medical Anthropology, Critical Studies in Medicine, Science and the Body, University of California at Berkeley; Director, Organs Watch. Dr. Scheper-Hughes is a leading expert in the world of organ smuggling and an outspoken critic of medical human rights abuses associated with organ trafficking. Her remarks focused on the historical perspectives on organ shortages, the underground market for kidneys and current issues in the U.S. regarding the controversial sale of organs. Dr. Scheper-Hughes is well known for her investigation of an international ring of organ sellers based in New York, New Jersey and Israel. Her compelling findings revealed hundreds of third world organ donors who were tricked into donating organs or threatened at gunpoint to do so. Her remarkable work led to several arrests.
• Alex Tabarrok, Ph.D. –  Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center and Associate Professor of Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax VA; Director of Research, The Independent Institute, Oakland, CA. Dr. Tabarrok discussed the economics of end stage renal disease and how practical incentives to increase organ availability would work, specifically in this country. His articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers across the U.S.

“Compensating organ donors will end the shortage of organs and save lives,” said Dr. Alex Tabarrok. “Simply put: incentives work. Other countries are using incentives to increase organ donation and it’s past time to change our own health policies to end needless deaths.”

Dr. Cohen stated that “Kidney transplantation has never been more successful, but due to the increasing demand and continued shortage of organs available for transplantation, we face difficult public policy dilemmas and rationing of care.”

For further information and to set-up interviews, contact: Mona Finston via phone 212-724-6117 or email mfinstonpr@earthlink.net