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Friday, March 7, 2003 Press Release SOURCE: LifeSharers LifeSharers Responds to Concerns Voiced by UNOSNASHVILLE, Tenn. – March 7, 2003 – LifeSharers, a grass-roots network of organ donors dedicated to ending the shortage of human organs for transplant operations, today responded to concerns expressed by the United Network for Organ Sharing. “LifeSharers is a legal, ethical, and effective way to increase the organ supply in America. LifeSharers and UNOS share common goals, and I’m confident UNOS will agree to support us when we’ve attracted more members,” says David J. Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers. “We’ve asked UNOS to rethink their concerns. Their support will help us grow faster, but their lack of support won’t stop us.” LifeSharers is a non-profit group of organ donors. LifeSharers members agree to donate their organs when they die. They direct their donations first to their fellow members. Non-members can have a member’s organs if no member who is a suitable match for them wants them. By creating a pool of organs available first to members, LifeSharers members create an incentive for non-members to become donors and join the network. This incentive, which will become more powerful as membership in LifeSharers expands, is the key to reducing the organ shortage and saving lives. LifeSharers also corrects an inequity in the current organ allocation system, which gives about 80% of all organs to people who haven’t agreed to donate their own organs. “The organ donation system is broken, and just doing more of what we’ve been doing won’t fix it,” says Mr. Undis. “Thousands of people die every year waiting for an organ transplant. The demand for organs is growing much faster than the supply, and the waiting list keeps getting longer. The death toll keeps mounting despite years of efforts to create public awareness of the need for more organ donations. These efforts have been proven ineffective in reducing the shortage. Any discussion about alternatives to the current system needs to begin with these facts in mind.” The organ shortage will kill over 6,000 people in America this year, and it is getting worse every day. According to statistics compiled by the United Network for Organ Sharing, over 80,000 Americans are now on their waiting list for an organ transplant, and another name is added to the list every 14 minutes. Somebody on the waiting list dies about every 90 minutes. Last September the UNOS Ethics Committee discussed a request for support from LifeSharers. In February of this year the committee declined to support that request. UNOS expressed concern that LifeSharers “creates a class of ‘LifeSharers members’ for special consideration in organ allocation” and “undermines the current framework for organ allocation, which is based on clinically-relevant considerations, not personal characteristics.” In response, LifeSharers notes that UNOS has endorsed at least one other program that gives special consideration in organ allocation in exchange for supplying an organ. That program, called Hope Through Sharing, moves a person up the transplant waiting list when a relative supplies a kidney. “LifeSharers and Hope Through Sharing have the same idea at their cores – changing the organ allocation system to reward organ donation,” notes Mr. Undis. “By endorsing Hope Through Sharing, UNOS has shown a willingness to deviate from the use of clinically-relevant characteristics in allocating organs, and we hope it will honor that precedent with respect to LifeSharers.” LifeSharers also notes that the LifeSharers “class” is open to everyone. Membership is free, and anyone can join at http://www.lifesharers.org/. No one is excluded from joining LifeSharers, and LifeSharers does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical handicap, health status, marital status, or economic status. UNOS also expressed concern that LifeSharers members would accept organs from any donor, but would “preferentially restrict their donation to LifeSharers members.” According to UNOS this “creates an imbalance by creating an open system with respect to receiving an organ, but a closed system where donation is concerned.” In response, LifeSharers notes that UNOS supports another group that is closed with respect to receiving an organ but closed where donation is concerned. That group is the group of people who refuse to donate their own organs. UNOS defends their right to refuse to donate their organs, while allocating organs to them despite that refusal. According to Mr. Undis, “it doesn’t seem logically consistent for UNOS to support people who refuse to donate their organs and oppose those who do.” UNOS acknowledges that widespread acceptance of LifeSharers would leave the current allocation system intact. “It will also save a lot of lives by putting a big dent in the organ shortage, and that’s exactly why we think UNOS will support LifeSharers,” adds Mr. Undis. About LifeSharers LifeSharers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit network of organ donors. Membership in LifeSharers is free. Since its launch on May 22, 2002, LifeSharers has attracted 590 members in 41 states and the District of Columbia. The LifeSharers web site is at http://www.lifesharers.org. Contact:
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