WAITING TIME AS A PRICE FOR DECEASED DONOR KIDNEYS

Kidney transplant candidates can obtain organs immediately from living donors or wait for deceased donor organs. I hypothesize that as waiting time for deceased donor organs increases, more patients will seek living donors. I estimate the impact of the availability of deceased donor organs on the use of living donor transplantation. The model, which is identified using within-region variation in the demand for and supply of kidneys, shows evidence of a substitution effect. A five unit increase in the supply of deceased donor kidneys will result in one fewer living donor transplant for a net increase of four transplants.