Alex Johnson – Journalist at Large

The rules that determine who goes to the top of the list for a kidney transplant could change dramatically under an idea working its way through federal health agencies.

Some transplant specialists and medical ethicists say the idea — which is under discussion  and hasn’t been formally proposed to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network — is likely to be controversial if it is eventually adopted.

The complicated formula would give higher priority for access to the “best” kidneys to younger and healthier patients with a greater chance for long-term survival. That would be a significant shift from current first-come, first-served rules that, broadly speaking, favor patients who have been on the waiting list the longest, with less regard to age.

Full story (Alex Johnson/msnbc.com)