A Revised Iranian Model of Organ Donation as an Answer to the Current Organ Shortage Crisis

Abstract

Kidney transplantation has become the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease. Six decades of success in the field of transplantation have made it possible to save thousands of lives every year. Unfortunately, in recent years success has been overshadowed by an ever-growing shortage of organs. In the United States, there are currently more than 100 000 patients waiting for kidneys. However, the supply of kidneys (combined cadaveric and live donations) has stagnated around 17 000 per year. The ever-widening gap between demand and supply has resulted in an illegal black market and unethical transplant tourism of global proportions. While we believe there is much room to improve the Iranian model of regulated incentivized live kidney donation, with some significant revisions, the Iranian Model could serve as an example for how other countries could make significant strides to lessening their own organ shortage crises.