Thousands in N.J. await transplants

By Barbara S. Rothschild

Courier-Post Staff

December 17, 2006

MOUNT LAUREL -- The odds of getting a donor kidney through national and local waiting lists are long.

Of 93,900 national registrations as of Dec. 8, some for patients needing more than one organ, most -- 69,256 -- are for kidneys. In New Jersey, 2,679 residents are awaiting a kidney, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

In the Delaware Valley, the Gift of Life Organ Donor Program has a list of 5,179 patients registered on its waiting list, including 3,588 waiting for a kidney.

"With so many people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, every person can be a hero. Each one of us has the ability to save a life by saying "yes,' " Gift of Life spokesman John Green said.

Nationally for all organs, there have been 6,057 deceased donors and 5,135 living donors this year through Sept. 30, Green said.

The key to live kidney donation is that while donors have only one heart, they have a spare kidney.

In people with normal kidney function, each kidney contributes 50 percent of the work. If both kidneys worked to their maximum, they'd be overproducing what one human being needs to function.

The Rev. Karen Onesti, who plans to donate a kidney to Rabbi Andrew Bossov early in 2007, said her mother-in-law functioned normally with only one good kidney.

"You only need one-fifth of normal kidney function to lead a normal life. God gives you more than you need -- so, why not?" she said.

Green expressed hope that more people would begin thinking like Onesti.

"What's amazing about this story is that she was willing to give this gift without question. It illustrates that with organ and tissue donation, there are no barriers with regard to religion, ethnicity or age," he said.

Reach Barbara S. Rothschild at (856) 486-2416 or brothschild@courierpostonline.com

Copyright © 2006 CourierPostOnline.com.

This article posted January 8, 2007.