KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System fear a change in the distribution of livers across the country could result in Kansans waiting longer for transplants.
Dr. Timothy Schmitt will testify in Topeka Tuesday in favor of a bill that would allow residents who donate organs to decide whether they would like them kept in state.
"The fear is when we look at transplants in a bigger picture, people on the wait list here die at the same rate as they do in other cities," Schmitt said.
For years, organs have been distributed within regions. Kansas is part of Region 8, which includes Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming.
However, a proposed change would eliminate these regions. Instead, it would draw 500 nautical-mile zones around transplant centers.
This change would mean that the University of Kansas Health System would be sharing organs with cities like Chicago and Dallas, which have a high demand for organs but lower donation rates compared to the Midwest.
In 2017, seven local patients died waiting on the liver transplant list. Eleven patients became too sick and were taken off the list.
"We still have people dying on the list here," Schmitt said. "I think what we want is to look at transplants in a more comprehensive fashion. The only way to do more transplants is to have more organ donors."
