TALKING ABOUT ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING TIMES

Emphasizing the need for greater consistency in the terms used to define and discuss how long patients may be waiting for an organ.

One of the first questions patients often ask when they enter the list for a transplant organ is, “How long will I be waiting?”

In a recently published editorial, Jesse Schold, PhD, director of transplant outcomes and policy in the Colorado Center for Transplantation Care,

Research, and Education and associate vice chair of policy and outcomes for the University of Colorado Department of Surgery, highlighted the need for greater consistency in the terms used to define and discuss waiting time.