Very quietly, Trump may have just saved 43,000 lives
"It's been going on for years - patients waiting for years for a life-saving kidney donation, and sometimes dying as they waited in those long, long, lines. Kidney patients are most prominent among those waiting in line, but that's only because those waiting for other kinds of organs die so quickly they can't wait in any line at all.
Johns Hopkins University economist Steve Hanke at Forbes points out a very little-reported story involving President Trump, who just days ago quietly signed an executive order that could save as many as 43,000 lives of the waiting kidney patients. His order involved several compassionate measures to tmake their lives easier but perhaps the best one will involve increasing the supply of available kidneys by as much as 50% by 2030, which is the aim. Hanke writes:
How many of you noticed the most life-changing story of the week? Yesterday, President Trump made a stunning speech announcing regulatory changes that will save thousands of American lives each year.
As the President noted, roughly 100,000 Americans with kidney disease are awaiting a transplant from a donor. About 20,000 Americans are awaiting transplants of other organs.
These estimates are, if anything, on the low side. Indeed, there are many people who never bother with the transplant waiting list because, under the current system, their prospects of receiving a transplant are so low. Last year, there were about 21,000 kidney transplants in the United States, but the transplant waiting list has remained stuck in the 90,000 to 100,000 person range for some years. If you are old, or even a young person in frail health, you won’t receive a kidney. Donor kidney’s are reserved for more “deserving” recipients. Shockingly, it’s estimated that 43,000 Americans die prematurely each year because they don’t receive a life-saving kidney transplant. For context, this exceeds the number of people who die in car accidents each year."
"It's been going on for years - patients waiting for years for a life-saving kidney donation, and sometimes dying as they waited in those long, long, lines. Kidney patients are most prominent among those waiting in line, but that's only because those waiting for other kinds of organs die so quickly they can't wait in any line at all.
Johns Hopkins University economist Steve Hanke at Forbes points out a very little-reported story involving President Trump, who just days ago quietly signed an executive order that could save as many as 43,000 lives of the waiting kidney patients. His order involved several compassionate measures to tmake their lives easier but perhaps the best one will involve increasing the supply of available kidneys by as much as 50% by 2030, which is the aim. Hanke writes:
How many of you noticed the most life-changing story of the week? Yesterday, President Trump made a stunning speech announcing regulatory changes that will save thousands of American lives each year.
As the President noted, roughly 100,000 Americans with kidney disease are awaiting a transplant from a donor. About 20,000 Americans are awaiting transplants of other organs.
These estimates are, if anything, on the low side. Indeed, there are many people who never bother with the transplant waiting list because, under the current system, their prospects of receiving a transplant are so low. Last year, there were about 21,000 kidney transplants in the United States, but the transplant waiting list has remained stuck in the 90,000 to 100,000 person range for some years. If you are old, or even a young person in frail health, you won’t receive a kidney. Donor kidney’s are reserved for more “deserving” recipients. Shockingly, it’s estimated that 43,000 Americans die prematurely each year because they don’t receive a life-saving kidney transplant. For context, this exceeds the number of people who die in car accidents each year."
