How long is the average wait for a kidney on the waiting list?
At Barnes-Jewish Hospital, most patients wait for three to five years for a kidney from the deceased donor waiting list. Every year, about 10,000 people nationally donate their kidneys. There are still over 80,000 people on the waiting list. Because of the lack of kidneys, this waiting time keeps increasing. Sometimes a matching kidney is never found. If you want to get a kidney from a deceased donor, the most important thing to do is to get on the list right away to begin gaining time. Another way to decrease your waiting time is to explore living donor transplants.
