Waiting is the hardest part
Woman’s case illustrates difficulty of getting an organ transplant

For Danette Stenger, the long, agonizing wait is over.

The Lake Havasu City woman had a kidney transplant last month, nearly three years after first being placed on a waiting list. Her case illustrates how difficult it can be to get an organ transplant, a problem exacerbated by a shortage of suitable organ donors, health experts say.

Stenger, 40, has had a chronic bladder infection since birth. Over the years, bacteria from the infection have caused severe kidney damage. She had been on dialysis since 2003, yet toxins continued to build up in her system. Worst of all, she didn’t feel any healthier after dialysis.

Stenger said her only hope was a kidney transplant. Before her surgery on Feb. 28, she was one of an estimated 93,000 Americans waiting for an organ transplant. The wait can be lengthy, sometimes fatal. Some, like Stenger, have trouble just getting on a waiting list.

About 68,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant and about 17,000 for a liver. The wait is extensive. At Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital, 69 percent of patients who need a liver transplant have to wait three years or more.