Abstract
Currently in the United States, there are over 100,000 Americans stuck on the national transplant waiting list for lifesaving surgery. Eighty-six percent of them need kidney transplants (Organ Donation Statistics, 2025). However, only 27,000 kidney transplants take place every year. This shortage, along with other factors such as lack of public awareness, donor health complications, and financial disincentives, results in around 4,000 deaths every year (Soltani-Nia, 2024). While organizations such as the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the National Kidney Registry have helped increase the number of transplants through public advocacy and the voucher program, emerging technologies such as regenerative medicine are also opening new avenues for organ transplants.
Recommended Citation
Lanning, Charlie
(2025)
"Synthetic Biology: Could You Donate Yourself a New Kidney?,"
Osmosis Magazine: Vol. 2025:
Iss.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/osmosis/vol2025/iss2/5