COVID-19 Is Causing An Alarming Decline In Organ Transplants | Forbes

Impacts from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic have rippled across all areas of the healthcare system, including organ transplants. On April 7th, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) released new data showing that transplants in the U.S. dropped sharply in early March of 2020, right around the time when social distancing measures came into effect in much of the country. The last week in March saw only half the number of transplants as the first week of the month. "Everyone has put their programs on hold pretty much," says Helen Irving, CEO of LiveOnNY, an organ procurement organization that covers New York City and surrounding counties. Procedures involving donations from living people, such as kidney transplants, have seen the most dramatic decrease. Both donors and patients are reluctant to go into the hospital, where many cases of COVID-19 have originated. All transplant patients are immunosuppressed to prevent organ rejection, which is a risk factor for more serious coronavirus symptoms. But kidney transplants aren’t the only operations being impacted. "Pretty much it's shut down," says Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU Langone Health, of the nation’s organ transplant network. "A lot of people may die on the waiting list, more than usual." Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrose... Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?s... Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter:   / forbes   Forbes Video on Instagram:   / forbes   More From Forbes: http://forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.