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Posted on Sat, May. 12, 2007

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TRANSPLANT CONTROVERSY

Donor group cutting in line?

LifeSharers looks to lessen wait times, but method bypasses national = system

JENNY SONG

jsong@charlotteobserver.com

If Bill Staton ever needs an organ transplant, he doesn't want to sit = around=20 and wait. Eighteen people in the United States die each day doing just = that.

So Staton, a Charlotte financial analyst, joined LifeSharers, a = controversial=20 network of organ donors that works like a co-op. Members pledge to = donate their=20 organs to others in the group upon death, which improves all members' = chances of=20 receiving an organ if they ever need one. Joining is free.

"If I need an organ, and particularly if I need it right away, I = would do=20 anything in my power to make sure that I would get it," said Staton, who = has no=20 major health problems. "Legally, of course."

David Undis of Nashville, Tenn., founded the group in 2002. A retired = insurance broker, Undis says LifeSharers offers a "free market" approach = to=20 organ donation, with the possibility of receiving an organ ahead of = others as an=20 incentive to become an organ donor. It should, he says, increase the = stock of=20 donors.

Membership has doubled in the past year to about 8,500 nationwide, = with 265=20 in North Carolina and 132 in South Carolina.

But many who work in the official pathways of organ procurement say=20 LifeSharers could damage a process that is already efficient and = fair.

"I watch people die from a lack of organs," said Dr. Daniel Hayes, = director=20 of transplantation at Carolinas Medical Center. "Our system is devised = to try to=20 get organs to the people who need them. If we have a huge diversion of = organs=20 from the system, more people will die. And that's what bothers me."

Hayes sits on the board of the United Network for Organ Sharing, or = UNOS, the=20 nonprofit designated by the government to find and match organs.

Specifying a recipient is legal, Hayes said, but it is intended to = allow=20 donating to family members or others close to the deceased, such as a = fellow=20 church member. LifeSharers' use of it preempts the official system, he = said.

Nationally, more than 96,000 people are waiting for a transplant. = About 2,865=20 are in North Carolina, including 508 who have been waiting for more than = five=20 years. And although the number of donors has been rising steadily over = the past=20 decade, there were only 375 in the state in 2006.

LifeSharers members in the Charlotte area said they believe the = group,=20 although it has yet to oversee a successful transplant, increases their = chances=20 of getting an organ.

"We've got people here," said Debbie Davenport, a member and a = retiree who=20 lives in Matthews, "as opposed to going through the government and dying = while=20 you're waiting."

Davenport said she learned about the group from a friend with kidney = failure=20 who could be in need of a transplant. Both are members now.

There are no medical requirements to join the group, and about 49 = members=20 currently are waiting for an organ. If a member dies, it is up to the = family to=20 pass on to hospital staff a list of members requiring transplants who = should get=20 first preference, provided there is a match.

There has been much debate in recent years over how to increase the = number of=20 organs for transplant. A majority of Americans say they would be willing = to=20 donate an organ, according to a 2005 Gallup poll. Yet more than 2 = million people=20 die annually, and of those, only about 8,000 became donors last year. = (An=20 additional 6,700 people donated organs while alive.)

Some doctors, law professors and economists have pushed a financial = incentive=20 to encourage more donors, which is currently outlawed in the U.S. Others = want to=20 legislate "presumed consent," which would make everybody a potential = organ donor=20 until he or she opts out.

But neither of those ideas has made much progress, said Richard = Hirth, an=20 associate professor at the University of Michigan who studies organ=20 transplantation. And the number of people who need an organ is still = growing=20 more rapidly than the general population.

There are legal hurdles, too. Often, a person indicates willingness = to donate=20 on a driver's license, but the family is unwilling. Hospitals cannot = enforce the=20 deceased person's wishes.

"While you're alive, your body is your property," Hirth said. "As = soon as you=20 die, your body becomes part of your estate."

Some members of the N.C. House are trying to remedy that by backing a = bill=20 that would make binding a person's expression of willingness to = donate.

Undis and LifeSharers members say their group is a part of the larger = effort=20 to increase organ donation by rewarding those who agree to donate with a = better=20 chance of getting an organ if they need one.

"Imagine if UNOS did what we're doing," Undis said. "Just about = everybody in=20 the country would sign up to be an organ donor. The idea behind = LifeSharers=20 results in more lives being saved, not fewer."

Some members say they have always been committed to organ donation, = but=20 joined with the belief that as the group grows, others will commit, = too.

"I do have some qualms about it, because you know, really in a = perfect world=20 it would be the people who would need things most who should get them = first,"=20 said Erin Stack Mack of Charlotte, who joined the group six months ago. = "My=20 thought is, everybody should sign up."

The Waiting List Compared With=20 Donors

96,473

Number of people nationwide waiting for a transplant, as of = Friday.

14,757

Number of donors nationwide in 2006

2,865

N.C. residents waiting for a transplant

375

N.C. donors in 2006

641

S.C. residents waiting for a transplant

226

S.C. donors in 2006

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