A recent editorial in The Washington Post reported as many as one-third of individuals on the organ transplant waiting list are ineligible for operations at any one- time. These people are classified as "inactive," meaning they could not be given an organ if one becomes available because they are too sick, not sick enough, or some other unexplained reason.
 
The proportion of inactive patients varied by type of organ. Nearly 33 percent of those waiting for kidneys were inactive. Most inactive patients have been ineligible for at least one year, and often more than two years.
 
This leads to discussion about whether some patients should be allowed to put their name on the waiting list if they are just going to be deemed ineligible for surgery. Individuals in the renal community also wonder if these types of patients should be removed from the list, allowing others to receive life-saving organs.

This article originally appeared in the April 2008 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.