Four things to know:
1. The authors of the study found that about 126,000 people are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease that generally can be fixed only by receiving a new kidney, but not all patients would benefit from receiving a transplant.
2. The authors estimate about half of diagnosed patients would benefit from receiving a transplant. That is about 63,000 people a year. Of the 63,000 patients who would would benefit from a transplant, about 20,000 receive one. About 6,000 of those patients receive a kidney from a living donor, which adds anywhere from nine to 10 years of life compared to a kidney from a deceased donor.
3. Dylan Matthews, a writer at Vox, donated a kidney in an organ donation chain, which can help as many as 30 people receive kidneys, according to an op-ed in Vox.
4. There are no 3D-printed or stem cell-generated organs currently available for patients. “Until the happy day arrives when such [artificial] organs are readily available, we should address here and now the terrible premature death toll caused by the kidney shortage with a technology that is already available and proven — compensating donors for their kidneys,” the authors write.
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