Tagged As: Small Bowel Transplant
Question:
I wonder why someone would have that long a wait for intestine transplant? I am under the impression that intestine transplants are relatively rare, so I would think that wait should be a lot shorter for someone that needs one. My guess is that most organ donors are willing to donate all organs, so it seems like the supply of intestines should be as good as that of other organs.
Answer:
You are correct, the number of people needing small bowel transplants are few and most families consent to any transplantable organ being removed. I believe the reason that waiting times are long for small bowel transplants is that donors are selected extremely carefully for things like hemodynamic stability, age, and overall health. In addition, some intestine recipient need multiple organs in addition to intestine (such as liver, pancreas, kidney). Local transplant programs may not be willing to send these organs to intestine recipients from other areas, preferring to transplant their own recipients first.
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