Imagine Waiting for a Second Chance at Life
There are more than 10,000 people in Donor Network West’s donation service area of northern California and northern Nevada waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Organ failure and other serious illnesses can affect anybody of any age, race, or socioeconomic status, it could even affect a family member or a friend in your life. Those on the waiting list must overcome daily obstacles such as being on dialysis, connected to oxygen, living in the ICU and taking medication while waiting and hoping for a life-saving organ transplant. For some people, approximately 20 people every day, an organ donation never becomes available and they unfortunately pass away waiting.
How the Waiting List Works
When a patient is a confirmed transplant candidate by a medical professional at a transplant hospital, the patient is added to the national waiting list maintained by The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). This list ranks transplant candidates to ensure fair allocation of organs nationwide. Donor Network West works with UNOS to coordinate organ donations throughout northern California and northern Nevada.
When an organ donor becomes available, patients on the national waiting list are compared to the donor in the following areas to find the best possible match:
- Medical urgency
- Blood/tissue type
- Size match with the donor
- Genetic makeup
- Time on the waiting list
- Proximity between the donor and the recipient
