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Organ Transplants

The category of organ transplants deals with the procedure, implementation, risks and benefits of organ transplantation. Such miscellaneous items as adverse effects of medication, hospital monitoring, and transplant care are also addressed here.

546 Questions

When was the first organ transplant and what organ was it?

The first organ transplant occurred in 1954, when Ronald Lee Herrick donated one of his kidneys to his brother, Richard. The surgery was led by Dr. Joseph Murray, who later won a Nobel prize for developing the surgical technique regarding kidney transplants.

How do you preserve organs?

The preservation of a human body relies on the taphonomic processes which it endures once it enters the archaeological record. To cut a very long story short, a lack of moisture (such as being buried in the sand which would soak it up) inhibits the ability of bacteria to decay which would put an end to processes such as putrefaction, etc. A body can be freeze dried such as Otzi the Iceman (but not simply frozen, as once the particles expand upon freezing it would destroy the body) or placed in a peat bog with a PH of 3.2 - 4.2 (sphagnum peat bogs only)

I am assuming this is through natural methods! But artificial ones would work on the same principle.

Why do people have organ transplant?

Organ transplants are the easiest to explain - people need these when their own organs have failed to prevent them from dying.

Tissue transplants work on the sample principle, but the patient may simply be suffering or could use the extra boost to return to full health. Tissue transplants include corneas (which can restore sight to people legally blinded by glaucoma or corneal trauma), bone grafts (which are often used during complicated bone re-setting surgeries) and skin grafts (which can be used during reconstructive surgery or to treat burn patients).

Can women have a mans kidney transplant?

Yes, anyone can give anyone else an organ as long as everything is compatible, such as tissue and blood type.

How is a person chosen for organ transplant?

How much a person likes to share. Should be the #1 factor.

How long does it take to get back to normal after liver transplant?

Liver can regenerate.Liver can be transplanted from a cadaver or from a living liver donor.In living liver donor it may take around 4-6 weeks to regenerate in case of no complication.

What drug is used to prevent organ transplant rejection?

To prevent rejection you need to take immunosupressivemedication. These medications lower/suppress your immune system so it won't attack the transplanted organ. cyclosporin, mycophenolate, tacrolimus are examples of immune suppressing medication.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of heart transplants?

The advantages to the Kidney Transplant recipient are more obvious, with the most significant quality of life improvement being the possibility of freedom from dialysis. Dialysis is an expensive long term treatment modality that can be eliminated with a new Kidney, thus making the transplant a cost effective option for those reliant upon dialysis. Beyond the debilitating limitations of regular dialysis appointments there are other complications that compromise the lives of those who suffer Kidney failure, including living with an ugly AV fistula to provide ready access for dialysis and the risk of infection. The advantages or incentives for Kidney donors are more altruistic. However, many people do not realize when they sign a donor card or tick the box on their driving license that most of their organs can only be used under a very specific set of circumstances. The ideal potential cadaveric (non-living) donor organ is taken from a patient who has just had life support terminated after they were left in a persistent vegetative state (essentially rendered Brain Dead) following some type of accident. Due to the necessity for controlled preservation of the vital organs following death they only remain viable due to the life sustaining machine and once this is turned off organs are made available for harvesting. Despite your wishes, whether your organs will be viable for transplant will depend on the circumstances of your death. However, there are opportunities for a healthy, highly committed individual to make a proactive choice during their lifetime that offers guaranteed use of suitable body components, all, or in some cases just part, of one of their vital organs: Kidney Donation is just one example of this. Living-Related (or Unrelated) Donor Nephrectomy: Kidney Donation. You can live a perfectly normal life with just one Kidney. Although it is always a serious commitment to undertake elective Surgery, it can now be accomplished by accessing the Kidney via less intrusive Laparoscopic Surgery with a much smaller bikini line incision to remove the donated organ. This method involves a shorter hospital stay for the donor as it is far less traumatic for the body. The decision to donate a Kidney to a family member or unrelated friend is a huge commitment that should not be taken lightly, but it is one of the ways that you will be absolutely certain that your desire to donate is accomplished and you will benefit from witnessing the dramatic quality of life improvement in the lucky recipient. While there are no cast iron guarantees that it will work, as organs are sometimes rejected by the body, you will at least know that you tried best to help out.

What do you have to do to get a heart transplant?

You have to go through a "transplant assessment" at a hospital that performs heart transplants. This usually involves a MRI scan, ultrasound, blood tests, ECG's, EEG's and a psychological assessment (possibly some other stuff - doing this typically requires an inpatient hospital stay of a few days to a week). If you pass all of these and are considered a suitable candidate for a transplant, you will be added to the transplant waiting list. Then you just wait for the call to say that a organ is available for you for transplant.

Is it possible to have a uterus transplant?

I have heard that there was the first uterus implant done in another country, and subsequently heard that they were studying implanting uteri in the U.S. The U.S. has not perfected a method of a permanent uterus implant, however. The method they are studying now includes anti-rejection drugs so that the woman the uterus is implanted to can have the uterus implant until after she gives birth, then it is removed. I am hopeful that they will continue this study, but I have heard that many people find a uterus implantation ethically "wrong", fearing that men will ask for this implant.

What is the process of organ transplants?

I think that with most people it is were they inject bone into your own bone to help you i had to have one of these with my leukemia and they injected someone elses bone marrow into my own to help build my bone back. But really i think you should look it up some were else just to be sure though because i am only 11 and it really looked just like a shot exept alot more painful but i did educate myself on the subject a little bit after the bone marrow to see what it was. So i am not completely confused! But they have websites that will educate you more on the subject and most of the time all you have to do is Google your question and it can really help most of the time.''missy177'' Let me help with this answer: ''My daughter has just had a bone marrow transplant. The actual transplant is just like getting getting fluid in an IV. They have a line hooked up to a pump that slowly pushes the bone marrow (looks like regular blood) into her veins. It takes about 3 to 4 hours for it to push through.''

Should you have surgery while on your period?

That was the question I had before my laproscopic hysterectomy a few day ago.

My doctor told me yes you can still have laproscopic suregery. If you do happen to be on your menstrual cycle be sure to wear a pad NOT a tampon during your surgery.

Who was the first black to perform a kidney transplant?

The first successful open heart surgery was performed on July 9, 1893, when Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, an African-American, opened the chest of a man and repaired the pericardium (sac surrounding the heart), which had been damaged by a knife stabbing. The patient recovered after 51 days and lived for another 50 years.

What is the most dangerous transplant?

The type of routinely performed transplant with the highest mortality rate is a heart transplant, if you decide to use "mortality" as a measure of danger. It is possible that there are transplants with a higher mortality rate, but these will be lesser-performed transplants and still slightly experimental, which means there isn't the wealth of experience (unlike heart, liver, lung, kidney transplants) to result in a true reflection of actual mortality rates.

How does a kidney transplant work?

The donor kidney is taken from the donor and placed into the recipient. The kidney is usually placed below one of the recipient's own kidneys.

The donated kidney is connected to the recipient's renal artery and renal vein and also connected to the bladder. Often the donated kidney starts functioning as soon as it is connected to the blood supply.

Click on 'related links' below and you can see a picture of a typical transplant situation

What are the advantages of storing umbilical cord blood?

Many sources currently state that it is a good idea to store umbilical cord blood in case there is need for it later in life. Other sources state that it is better to leave a child attached to a placenta for a longer length of time to allow all of the blood to pass into the child.

How many times you can do a liver transplant?

As many as necessary, depending on patient. On an elderly patient, or a patient with significant other co-morbidities (other health problems) which would not be 'cured' by a liver transplant, the surgery could be considered more risky (i.e higher risk of death). If the surgery was considered very high risk (e.g elderly patient with a significant heart problem), some hospitals may not consider doing the re-transplant operation. However, if the patient is still expected to have a good quality of life after (however many) re-transplants, re-transplanting will still be considered, and is usually performed. (Typically, the patient will give up having transplants before the hospital refuses to perform them.) The main problem with re-transplanting is build up of scar tissue around the site - this leads to high levels of blood loss during surgery, which makes each successive re-transplant higher risk than the previous. But it is not impossible to live a normal life after a few liver re-transplants :)

Can a man receive woman reproductive organs transplant?

No, it has never been done yet. I would not be surprised if somewhere someone is working on it though.

A few problems:

1) The female reproductive system AS A WHOLE is highly interwoven and involves a lot of blood connections. If any part of such a transplant failed, the system would not operate.

2) The anti-rejection chemcals needed to prevent complete destruction of these organs, once transplanted, tend to counteract the hormones they produce. Ovulation would simply not occur.

3) Even in animal tests, even when trying to transplant just the uterus (the absolute bare minimum for pregnancy), the transplanted uterus survives just long enough for one pregnancy.

4) Male pelvises are not properly designed for pregnancy and delivery. If someone with a male skeletal structure and a fully functional uterus began a pregnancy, the child would need to be delivered by caesarean section.

At present there is no proven, economically feasible means for a human male to receive even a uterus in a transplant. However, medical research is on-going.