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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
Why Children should be the first on organ transplant lists to save their lives?
In some cases children are given higher priority over adults when waiting for organs. There are many reasons for this: one of the main ones is that a child's health tends to be far less stable than an adult's, even when they are both dying from the same stage of the same disease - children can deteriorate very quickly, and are not always able to articulate how exactly they feel ill, which can slow down the process of diagnoses. These situations are complex and very risky to the child involved.
Secondly, being very ill in childhood will impact a lot subsequently throughout their life - generally these children will have reduced rates of growth and development compared to healthy children, and these children do not always catch up after they have been transplanted. In that respect, it is worthwhile attempting to minimise the impact of being ill on their growth and development. (Adults do not have this problem. )
These are two pretty compelling medical reasons why children should be first, however there are also ethical reasons, such as whether it would be right to put the health of an adult (who's had a much longer lifespan) ahead of the health of a child (who has not had the privilege of a long life).
Is a nuclear medicine bone scan harmful to a patient with a kidney transplant?
Yes it will cause your kidneys to rupture and your brain to liquify. Then the liquified brain will fall out the patient's nose and make a nice cocktail drink for the doctor.
What organ needs were listed on the National Transplant Waiting List of 2000?
The National Transplant Waiting List of 2000 indicated the following needs by organ type: Kidney, 48,349; Liver, 15,987; Heart, 4,139; Lung, 3,695; Kidney-Pancreas, 2,437; Pancreas, 942; Heart-Lung; 212; and, Intestine, 137.
The immune response that is stimulated in an organ transplant is?
The immune response that is stimulated in an organ transplant is aimed at fighting any foreign materials in the body. The T cells will reproduce by mitosis so as to provide antigens.
Reactions of animal to human organ transplantation?
Animal to human organ transplantation does not work. However if the animals' organs have been genetically altered to be suited to organ transplantation, then it is a realistic alternative to using human organs, which are always in short supply.
Do transplant patients take on characteristics of organ donors?
That is a much debated issue. Sometimes you will hear of transplant patients taking on the eating habits of the donors. However this is also fairly likely to be a side effect of some of the drugs used post-transplant (in particular corticosteroids), which can disrupt eating habits and sense of taste.
There are stories of patients starting hobbies that their donor's liked to do; a lot of the time the hobbies tend to be extreme sports related. However this tendency can also be explained by the recipient gaining the drive to do more with their life now that they've survived a transplant.
However, there was a story quite a few years ago, of a girl who received the heart of a murder victim. The recipient then has dreams which aided the police to catch the murder victim's killer. I don't know how to explain that one. (Luckily murder victims are not usually used for transplant purposes much these days).
I personally have had (more than one) transplant and have never taken on any of the donor's characteristics (that I know of). However after my first I did crave incredibly spicy foods - odd since I was very young at the time. I consider this to be a steroid side-effect.
Can everyone survive an organ transplant surgery?
Since organ transplantation was starting to be successful in the 1960's, there have been significant advances in the surgical techniques and anaesthesia used during the surgery. Thankfully, this has dramatically cut the rates of death during transplantation surgery - these days there are very few deaths actually "during" surgery.
To answer your question more analytically, "everyone who has been assessed as being suitable for a transplant, is likely to survive the surgery". I.e, being able to survive the surgery is a prerequisite for being considered for a transplant, otherwise many operations would be rendered pointless.
The main "danger period" is actually the ten days directly post-transplant, when rejection rates, blood clots and infections are most likely to occur.
Why do people transplant organs?
If you are unlucky enough to have a failing organ. And a better, healthier one is available. they will give you an organ transplant. This will change your life. take for an example. You have renal failure due to stage 2 diabetes's. You need new kidneys. Some poor soul has lost their life in a horrible accident. And they have a little note on the back of their license saying that the are a organ donor. they then track you down and in a long surgery process you may have a new life.
Can kidney transplant patient exercise?
Yes, so long as they feel healthy enough to do so. (If in doubt, check with your consultant.) If you wish, you can google "Transplant Games" to see many people with various different transplants doing exercise; it's the transplanted equivalent of the Olympics.
What is the normal range of tacrolimus level?
I had a kidney/pancreas transplant 9 months ago. My last tacr level was 10.7, which my coordinator called "toxic." - way too high. It should be below 9. at 9 months post-op, he said it should be around 6-8. Sorry, I don't know what the Low-Normal number is, but it's probably not much below 6.
Normal range=5 to 16,it must be below 14 after 3 month post transplant.
Ranjan Ravi,belapur,navi mumbai.
Can Kidney transplant patient drive a bike?
A kidney transplant patient, once over the operation, can drive a bike, aeroplane, tractor, car, whatever they like. There are no restrictions just because you only have one kidney, even if it is a transplanted one. Just need to be careful of contact sports so a physical injury does not happen to it. But even then you can get protective belts to wear.
I was told i was in the age bracket for a lung transplant 57 is there a waiting list?
To clarify, the "waiting" part of the concept of a "waiting list" refers to "waiting for a donor", not "waiting until everyone who was here before me to be transplanted". Everyonerequiring a transplant is placed on the waiting list, since they are all waiting for donors (unless they use a living donor).
Everyone who requires a transplant (of whatever organ) is on essentially the same waiting list - that way if a donor comes up who matches more than one person (i.e one match for a liver, one for a kidney, one for lungs) it's easy to identify who requires what.
What are some laws about organ transplants?
To be a living organ donor, you must be over 18, willing, in good health, and either related to the patient, or a willing volunteer.
It is not legal to donate an organ for a financial reward (in the UK)
It is not legal to donate an organ for any other kind of reward.
The living donor who donated the organ has given it to the other person cannot ask for it back. (This was tested in courts a few years ago; husband gave his wife a kidney. They divorced, he wanted his kidney back. Judge ruled that since it was a "gift", it was not his property, so could not ask for it back.)
Why are transplanted organs often rejected by the person that receiceves them?
Because people might think that the organ doners may have AIDS or HIV and do not want to catch it from them by getting the transplant.
How do you sanitize your home for heart transplant patient?
It is the first few weeks (typically the first twelve) directly post-transplant in which hygiene really matter, since this is also when levels of immunosuppression which the patient has to consume will be at their highest. These weeks are when they are most vulnerable. To help prevent infections, it really does help to keep their recovery environment clean and sanitized, for example:
-Keeping antibacterial handwashes in all bathrooms (try to get everyone who lives in the same environment to use them, not just the patient). "Hand hygiene" is crucial, e.g washing your hands before cooking.
- Wash bedlinen, towels and other laundry on the highest temperatures they can tolerate. (I appreciate this isn't eco-friendly, but being safe and healthy seems far more important).
- If you have household pets (e.g cats or dogs), it would be best to keep them away from the transplanted person for a few weeks immediately post transplant. (This is particularly true of cats, which can pick up things outdoors). If the patient is desperate to see their pets, it is beneficial to wash the pet first. Also, hand washing after petting is essential (for both the patient and the others in the household, especially before cooking/eating). Similarly, immunosuppressed patients are advised not to be the ones who clean up after their pets, due to various risks associated with handling pet waste.
- Using a dishwasher is useful, since it guarantees that the wash is hot enough and thorough enough to kill off germs. However this may not be an option for everyone. The alternative (which I personally use whilst at university, as a liver transplant recipient) is to spray Dettol Surface Cleanser over your dishes after they have been handwashed.
-Similarly, if you choose to handle raw meats, especially on chopping boards etc... in the kitchen, it is best if the work surfaces which you used are thoroughly and immediately disinfected afterwards. (E.g some sort of anti-bac surface cleanser over everything, plus the addition of a kettle full of boiling water over all utensils used, before putting in the dishwasher/handwashing again). If you choose to wash up the chopping boards by hand, throw the cloth away afterwards (then anti-bac spray the sink and taps, then wash your hands).
- Make sure the patient's toothbrushes are changed frequently, especially after colds /mouth ulcers/ vomiting bugs etc... Same goes for mouthwashes in which the liquid is drunk out of the cap/lid. (Also, immunosuppressed people are advised never to share drinks ... which means you should not share their mouthwash, toothbrush etc...)
- If one of the household members, other than the patient, catches something potentially contagious, make every effort to keep the two people separate.
When preparing their bedroom, particularly if they're just coming home, firstly check they can walk up-stairs (if applicable). Take out any large items from the room which are not of immediate use, if necessary. Then make every effort to keep the floor clear (incase they're a little wobbly), give the room a thorough vacuum, and see if a comfy chair can be accommodated in the room somewhere. Add clean bedding to the bed. Anti-bac spray all surfaces in the room (e.g windowsill, desk, chest of draws, bedside table, door handles, light switches etc...) (Ban pets from going into this room if you have indoor pets). Then you should be sorted.
The rule-of-thumb really is "anti-bac spray everything"; after a while it becomes second nature.
What are the disadvantages of using animal organs for human transplants?
Using animals organs for science is cruel, animal organs are different from human organs and the human body could reject it, some religions (eg: Islam) feel that some animals such as pigs are unclean and having a pig organ could go against their beliefs.. Any of that help?
The main issue is that they do not function correctly upon transplantation into humans. This is why the process of xenotransplantation (organs transplanted from animals to humans)is an incredibly rare procedure (especially these days when the risks are well known). The risks of rejection is much higher in xenotransplants, and there is the additional risk of passing on disease from animals to humans. Not to mention the most likely outcome, that the organ does not function correctly. Hence why allotransplants (human to human) are comparatively much safer and are the only type of transplants routinely performed by the medical community.
The organs for most transplants are taken from people whose hearts are still beating?
Those people are brain dead and are on life support machines which keep the heart and organs working. If that machine is turned off the persons heart would stop beating. So effectively they are dead but a machine keeps the heart going. If the person has signed the donor register and the next of kin agree then that heart is used to save someone elses life. This is of great comfort to the donors next of kin that they know their death was not in vain.
Do you have to wait until you are on a liver transplant list to get a living donor liver transplant?
Part of the reason for being placed on a "transplant list" is to wait until a matching donor is found. At that point, the donor is an unknown, only a possibility. However, if you can find a willing person and if the test results match compatibility with your tissues and blood type, then the "waiting list" is not needed. Your next obstacle would be to have insurance willing to pay. With all of those factors met, you'd have the transplant.
How many organ transplants were there in 2009?
Many countries do not record operations, others do not allow public access to them therefore an accurate figure cannot be given.
Do you mean Alannah Shevenell? She had a 6 organ transplant at the age of 9.
Is it safe to get a kidney transplant if you already have a liver transplant?
The more replacement parts a patient has, the greater the risk of tissue rejection. Transplantation is not without risk but not getting the transplant also carries its own share of risks. You really ought to take this question up with a surgeon or other medical professional if this is more than a hypothetical question.
