Runner's World: Runners, you should sign up to be a living organ donor
UC transplant surgeon says physically active individuals can be good potential donors
Runner’s World magazine interviewed Latifa Sage Silski, MD, an assistant professor in the UC College of Medicine and UC Health transplant surgeon, for a story that encourages runners, other athletes and active people to consider becoming organ donors. Silski says these donors, live or decreased, are ideal candidates because fit people tend to be in better health from a cardiovascular standpoint.
Latifa Sage Silski, MD. Photo by University of Cincinnati.
“You’re more likely to become or qualify to be a living kidney donor if you are an athlete or runner because you're more likely to be healthy enough to be good enough to get through the evaluation to be a donor,” Silski told Runner’s World. “For a liver, it’s a little bit tricky and comes with slightly higher risk because you’re giving a segment or portion of your liver, and because it also has to do with your anatomy, the size of your body compared to the size of your recipient.”
A common concern among potential donors is the fear that they or a family member may need a kidney in the future when they would now only have one of their own. However, Silski told Runner’s World that donors will be prioritized on transplant waitlists if they need one in the future, and if they donated altruistically, donors can receive vouchers through the National Kidney Registry to move a family member in need ahead of the line as well.
Right now, there are more than 100,000 registrations for organ donation, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), but in 2020 only 39,036 transplants occurred.
Read the full story in Runner’s World.
Learn more about Latifa Sage Silski, MD, online.
Featured image of runners courtesy of Unsplash.
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