A Genetic Test Could Predict Future Troubles For Kidney Donors – Why Not Use It?

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Wellcome Photolibrary, Wellcome Images, CC BY-NC-ND

Over 100,000 people in the US are waiting for a kidney transplant. Most of the kidneys that were transplanted in 2014 (about 17,000 transplants) are from deceased donors. Kidneys donated from living donors last longer, but the number of living donors has dropped over the past decade.

Ethnic and racial disparities in getting a kidney transplant are common, and African Americans are the hardest hit.