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Opioid crisis linked to increase in organ transplants

Posted at 10:39 AM, May 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-18 10:39:27-04

The opioid crisis, that has cost so many lives in this country, has helped give others a second chance at life.

Reseachers say the spike in overdose deaths has boosted the number of organs available for transplant.

In fact nearly all of the increased transplant activity within the past five years is directly linked to the opioid epidemic.

The study also looked at the safety of these organs. The odds of recipient survival were no lower when organ donors died from a drug overdose.