The case for making organ transplant waitlists public to increase donation rates: is it possible?

Abstract

This paper reviews the close connection between unwillingness to donate and a perception that organ allocation is driven not by medical need but by ostensibly unfair factors, such as status, income, ethnicity, or connections. The lack of organs for transplantation is one of the biggest hurdle facing transplantation systems worldwide and transplantation is the only technologically advanced field of medicine that is totally dependent on public understanding and support and that provides strong reasons to increase transparency and make waiting lists publicly available.