3,500 Donated Kidney Thrown<br />Away Each Year in US, Study Finds A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine<br />found that a total of 156,089 kidneys were donated<br />to transplant centers between 2004 and 2014. Only 128,102 of those kidneys were transplanted,<br />with over 27,000 being discarded. In 2016 the number of kidneys wasted<br />increased, with about 20 percent discarded. Researchers say the number of discarded<br />kidneys is due to “intense regulatory scrutiny.” This means that if a kidney isn’t in the<br />best shape, doctors are more reluctant<br />to perform the transplant procedure. Financial and regulatory reasons also play a role in<br />discarded kidneys, as older kidneys may cost more<br />to transplant and require a longer recovery period. Currently, there are 93,000 people <br />on the waiting list for <br />kidney transplants in <br />the United States. Roughly 5,000 people on the list die<br />each year, which is about 12 people a day.
