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Sacramento Organ Transplant Lists Growing Faster Than Available Donors

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The wait times for organ transplants are lengthy, despite becoming a donor being a simple step when applying for a driver's license.

Matthew Gross needs a new heart. He's on the transplant list at two different hospitals and is only one of a handful of patients waiting at Sutter Medical Center. Still, he's been on the waiting list for more than a year and a half.

The 33-year-old has known since childhood he'd need a new heart one day.

"Not this young. I was hoping for like 50," he said. "I can't work, because you're waiting for a call 24 hours a day. To give you an example of what I do every morning, I wake up and I give a prayer that I didn't miss a phone call."

In the Sacramento Valley, 1,300 people need lifesaving transplants. Sierra Donor Services spokeswoman Angela Brooks says there may be several reasons for the demand in organ donation.

"Organ donation is a much more accepted treatment than it used to be. More and more people are willing to go on the transplant list," she said.

Hospitals also need more diverse donors, as ethnicity and blood type will also influence a successful transplant.

"Someone who is a blood Type-O can donate to anyone, but a recipient who is a blood Type-O can't receive from anyone," she said.

"Whenever I ask people if they are a donor or will they become a donor, a lot of the excuse I'll get is 'Well, I drank a lot when I was younger, I ruined the kidneys. You wouldn't want them,'" Green said. "Well, maybe so, but someone will want your corneas, somebody will want your heart, somebody would want your lungs. There is always something to give."

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