Why can transplants be a problem?

Answer 1

Issues/risks with organ transplants include:

- Any type of transplant (perhaps with the exception of cornea) is high-risk surgery. It's only because that patients are guaranteed to die if they are not transplanted that it becomes a viable alternative.

- Although all possible things are done to ensure the safety and efficacy of a transplanted organ, there is still a huge element of "randomness" as to whether it will work or not.

- Rejection

- The immunosuppressives required to maintain a transplant are not always well tolerated in the short term, and have huge side-effects in the long term (including higher risk of certain cancers, and kidney damage).

- Being immunosuppressed means you also pick up every single virus which goes around.

- Not everyone who requires a transplant will receive one.

- the stress of waiting for a transplant can be traumatic.

- Anyone with a transplant will require lifelong medical monitoring and medication. (Check-ups, blood tests etc...)

-The average lifespan of a transplanted organ is around 15 years (normally a little less for kidneys). This means that one transplant is not normally enough to mean that a patient lives to their full life-span - many patients (especially young ones) will require retransplants.

I do feel it's necessary to point out that their are also many positives associated with organ transplants. However you didn't ask for those.

Answer 2

They are an invasive surgical procedure and there is always the risk of rejection. Which is why the immune system is suppressed, and this ensures a slower rate of rejection

Answer 3

transplant might not work because there white blood cells are not familiar with that organ so they form anti-bodys to kill the organs cells

Answer 4

because the organs are fragile and doctors must be careful. :)peace out