The New York Times’ recent reporting “A Push for More Organ Transplants Is Putting Donors at Risk” underscores a painful truth: as the transplant system struggles to meet demand, the pressure to increase deceased donation is mounting, with serious ethical and clinical concerns. But there’s a better, safer, and proven path forward– living kidney donation.

Living donors offer the best outcomes for patients and the greatest long-term value to the healthcare system, yet the number of living kidney transplants has barely moved in twenty years. This is not because people aren’t willing. It’s because the process remains too difficult, too opaque, and too financially punishing.

KTC is advancing a national strategy to fix that. Our proposed Living Donor Facilitator program would create the infrastructure to guide donors and recipients through every step, from evaluation to surgery to recovery. We are also working closely with transplant centers, OPOs, and public and private partners to fund practical solutions, improve outcomes, and expand access through grants and innovation.

Rather than push the limits of deceased donation, we should be making it easier to say yes to living donation. That’s how we save lives, reduce dialysis dependence, and build a more ethical, effective transplant system.

Living donors are the clearest path to real progress, and KTC is working to put them at the center of national policy. We call on lawmakers, healthcare leaders, and private sector partners to help us make that a reality.