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Opinion: Economic barriers to organ transplants from living donors must be removed

Many people would willingly donate a kidney or part of the liver but can't afford to. It's time to reduce barriers — including economic ones — so anyone who wants…

For individuals suffering with end-stage liver disease, liver transplants — true miracles of modern medicine — can save their lives. Yet every day in the U.S., seven people die while waiting for a liver transplant. Many more die awaiting hearts, kidneys, and other organs.

We have the technology, the high-tech operating rooms, the highly skilled clinical and surgical teams, all standing by. What we don’t have is enough organs.

In Southern California, the shortage is particularly acute. At Keck Medicine of USC, where I work, nearly 300 patients are waiting for liver transplants. They must be near death, with a high Model of

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