Disparities in Organ Transplant

Every year, thousands of people are added to organ transplant waiting lists, but not all patients have equal access to the lifesaving procedures they desperately need. As transplant programs around the world continue to expand and improve, it’s important for healthcare providers to consider potential disparities in care, all while working hard to create an even playing field for patients. Socioeconomic status, geography, wait times and access are just a few of the factors to keep in mind.

Children’s Hospital Colorado has one of the top transplant programs for kids, with some of the best outcomes in the nation. In this episode, we welcome specialists from our heart, kidney and liver transplant programs. Pediatric cardiologist Melanie Everitt, MD is the Director of Pediatric Heart Transplant. Margret Bock, MD, is the Medical Director of Kidney Transplant and specializes in pediatric nephrology. Amy Feldman, MD, is the Program Director of the Liver Transplant Fellowship, the Medical Director for the Liver Transplant Center, and she specializes in pediatric gastroenterology. All three of our experts also teach at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In this episode, our organ transplant experts discuss:

• The current landscape of solid organ transplant in the United States and how the waitlists work
• Why some children have better access to these life-saving treatments than others
• How primary care providers can identify potential barriers and ensure their patients have the best chance at receiving a transplant
• The evolution of live-donor liver transplant and how it’s changing opportunities in pediatrics

Additional resources:

• Ongoing transplant research from Children’s Colorado physician scientists
• An overview of our groundbreaking work in pediatric live-donor liver transplants
• Stories from patients who had transplants at Children’s Colorado