Why do you have advantages and disadvanges of transplanting organs?

Answer 1

If a person is considering having an organ transplant, it is necessary for them to know the advantages and disadvantages so that they can give "informed consent" to the procedure. (Or alternatively, so that they have sufficient information to decline the procedure.) However most people in this position do not actually consider the "disadvantages" of transplantation in great detail since they're guaranteed to die fairly quickly without a transplant; in this respect, "disadvantages" are normally told so that the patient knows what to expect post-transplant.

Advantages include: Transplants can save, prolong and/or enhance quality of life dramatically. They also provide employment (surgeons, nurses, drug researchers etc...). They have shown processes in the human body which were previously unknown, and continue to develop understanding of processes within the human body.

Disadvantages include: Cost (Although in the UK, patients do not directly pay for their treatment. The cost is purely economic, but attempting to calculate what the patient has actually cost the NHS can be quite staggering). The fact that transplant surgery is high-risk (but since the patients are pretty much guaranteed to die without a transplant, most people consider the risk worthwhile). The long-term medications necessary to prevent graft rejection (inconvenience of daily medication, plus short-and-longterm side effects). A lifetime of medical check-ups, normally at 6 monthly intervals. The fact that most solid-organ transplants have a working life of approximately 15 years (meaning that if a young person requires a transplant, it is likely they will require a retransplant during their lifetime).