Saving lives through increasing available donor kidneys: The positive effect of altruistic kidney paired donor chains

This thesis will propose that altruistic kidney paired donor chains will save more lives of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients by increasing the number of available donor kidneys for kidney transplantation in the United States. Altruistic kidney paired donor chains make the most of a living, healthy and willing potential kidney donor who is immunologically incompatible to his or her directed end-stage renal disease patient. These donor chains enable the potential immunologically incompatible living kidney donor to donate to another ESRD patient, who is immunologically compatible, while their directed patient can receive a kidney from another living donor that is immunologically compatible. This thesis will explain in detail the importance of the kidneys via their physical functions in order to sustain life. It will elaborate on the fact that an ESRD patient is limited to two therapeutic choices in order to live. Kidney transplantation is deemed the ideal therapeutic option for providing standard renal functions for ESRD patients. After all, another kidney can provide identical functions, while dialysis on a machine can only mimic a small fraction of what a kidney can do within the body in a twenty-four hour timeframe. Medical data will be probed which illustrate a profound status of disproportionate sums between the higher numbers of end-stage renal patients in need of a kidney for transplantation and the lower numbers of donor kidneys available for transplantation. The main motive for the development of kidney paired donation.