Nebraska Medicine Faces Kidney Backlog As 105,000 Await Transplants, Patients Urge Donors During Donate Life Month

Omaha Patients Urge Donor Registration As kidney transplant Waits Stretch Years

USA: At Nebraska Medicine, transplant teams and patients mark Donate Life Month amid stark demand for kidney transplantation. Nationally, about 105,000 people are on the transplant list, and roughly 80 percent are waiting for a kidney. In Nebraska roughly 400 people await organs, and average wait times at Nebraska Medicine run about three to four years, with some patients in other regions facing eight to ten year waits.

The long timeline leaves many tethered to dialysis for years, spending hours each week connected to a machine that sustains life but is no replacement for a functioning kidney. Patients report traveling with their dialysis equipment for work or family needs, a burdensome workaround that underscores the gap between care and cure. Those on the list say the strain drives them to push for public awareness during Donate Life Month.

One local patient, Judy Kirschman, who has waited nearly three years for a transplant, has spent days on Omaha street corners asking strangers to register as donors. Transplant staff emphasize that increasing donor registration and improving organ procurement can shave years from wait lists, but supply continues to lag behind rising need.

As the month closes, clinicians and patients alike are pressing for concrete action: more registered donors, better matching and continued community outreach. For those on dialysis and the thousands still listed for kidneys, every registered donor represents a real chance at a life off the machine.

Video originally published on 2026-04-28 19:25:51