In 1954, a milestone was reached in the medical field. The very first successful kidney transplant was performed on identical twins (Organ Allocation). During the time this procedure was very precarious and only few dared to take the chance because of the survival rate. "The biggest challenge in organ transplantation is the possibility that the person receiving the new organ will reject it" (Organ Allocation). In the human body, white blood cells are responsible for attacking any foreign substance, such as viruses. This is called the immune response (Organ Allocation). It is less likely that people with the same tissue type (cell type) will reject the organ (Organ Allocation). That is why the first transplant went as efficiently because they were identical twins with similar tissue type. "In the early 1980's, a new suppressant drug, Cyclosporine, greatly improved patients chances of surviving an organ transplant" (Organ Allocation). Cyclosporine suppresses the body's immune system, which hinders its response to foreign tissue (Medical & health, 88). But making organ transplant more feasible, it soon became the first alternative for ill patients. This meant a high demand for transplants causing a shortage of organs. .
With great strides in the medical field and the advances in technology, organ transplants have been increasingly popular. Since the demand of organs has risen in the past decade the supply has not kept up to par. "An average of ten people die everyday in the US, because they need organ transplant." (Organ Allocation). To control the unbalance, the federal government assigned the task of allocating organs to a private non-profit group called United Network for Organ Sharing also known as UNOS (Organ Allocation). The UNOS "sets organs allocation nationwide, matching organs with recipients based on the length of time a person has waited on a list and on the severity of the patients illness" (Organ Allocation).