NEW YORK
Wed Dec 1, 2010 11:47am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City is changing its kidney donors program to allow organs to be recovered from people who die of heart attacks outside hospitals.
The pilot program, launched on Wednesday by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Organ Donation Network, overrides rules that restrict the donation of kidneys to cardiac arrest victims who died inside hospitals.
"This new pilot program will help us test a process that could transform the way we donate organs and help save many lives," Bloomberg said in a statement.
Under the program, an Organ Preservation Team will respond to cases of cardiac arrest when an organ donor card is found, or if the deceased is a registered donor. Bodies will then be moved by ambulance to Bellevue hospital for final next-of-kin consent and the transplant operation.
"We are hopeful that it will prove to be an effective and efficient way of honoring donor wishes and making more organs available for life-saving transplants," said Health and Hospitals Corporation President and CEO Alan Aviles.
New York City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said the new program would benefit both those receiving new organs and those who wished to donate at the time of their death.
The program is funded with a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Health Resources and Services Administration. The pilot program covers Manhattan and runs until May when it will be reviewed for possible expansion.
According to city officials, nearly 8,000 New Yorkers are awaiting organ transplants. Nationally, over 109,000 are waiting for organs, a list to which a new name is added every 13 minutes. Approximately 6,500 people die each year because a transplant is not available.
(Reporting by Bernd Debusmann Jr.; Editing by Mark Egan and Jerry Norton)
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