Summer BanksOrgan transplant and working
August 10th 2006 01:32
Organ transplant and working :
Sixty years ago, scientists were on the cusp of a revolutionary scientific breakthrough. In the preceding decades, researchers had had some success transplanting organs in animals, and there had even been a few failed attempts at human organ transplants. Numerous studies showed that human organ transplantation was feasible, and that it would be enormously beneficial to thousands of patients, but nobody had been able to make it work.
Success finally came in the early 1950s, when several kidney transplants within a few years gave new life to ailing patients. In the following decades, doctors learned how to transplant other organs successfully, and they dramatically improved recovery rates. Today, most organ transplants are relatively safe, routine procedures, and transplantation is considered to be the best treatment option for thousands of patients every year.
The Screen, list and Match :
Organ transplants are one option when a particular organ is failing. Kidney failure, heart disease, lung disease and cirrhosis of the liver are all conditions that might be effectively treated by a transplant. For problems with the heart, the lungs and other highly sensitive organs, a transplant is typically the course of last resort. But if all other avenues have been explored and the patient is willing and able, transplantation is a good, viable option.
Kidneys and livers may be transplanted from a living donor, since people are born with an extra kidney and the liver is regenerative. Even a lung can be transplanted from a living donor, but this is still very rare. For these procedures, a patient will generally find a willing donor in a friend or family member. If the donor is a match, they can proceed directly to the surgery stage. A smaller number of living transplants come from charitable people donating for the general good.
The Surgery :
When a donor's family authorizes the removal of organs, several surgical teams immediately begin work recovering the organ. (While the term harvesting is still in use, many organizations now prefer the term recovery because it is more sensitive to the donor family.) To understand what is involved in this procedure, let's focus on a particularly harrowing operation: the heart transplant.
The first step for all the harvesting teams is to cut open the donor's chest. Next, a surgeon saws through the breast bone and pulls the ribs outward to reveal the heart. While other teams are working on other parts of the body, the heart team clamps the different blood vessels leading into the heart and pumps in a cold, protective chemical solution. This solution stops the heart from beating and helps preserve it during transportation.
The surgeons then sever the vessels and remove the heart from the body, placing it in a bag filled with a preservative chemical. This bag is then packed in an ordinary cooler filled with ice, which is rushed to the recipient's hospital, often via plane or helicopter.
Meanwhile, the recipient is fully anesthetized and his or her chest is shaved. He or she is wheeled into the surgery room and covered in sterile cloths, leaving only the chest exposed. Typically, the surgery won't actually begin until the heart arrives, just in case there is some problem in transport.
When the donated heart has arrived, the transplant team begins the procedure. First, they hook up an IV and inject an anticoagulant into the patient's bloodstream. This keeps the blood from clotting during the transplant procedure.
Improving the system :
Forty years ago, countless people died because doctors could not successfully perform a transplant and prevent rejection. The knowledge of immunosuppressive drugs was minimal, and the surgery involved was extremely difficult.
Today, science has advanced to the point that most transplant operations are considered relatively low risk. The success rate is phenomenal for kidney transplants, liver transplants, cornea transplants, pancreas transplants -- even heart and lung transplants. But more than 5,000 potential transplant recipients die in the United States every year, not because of scientific obstacles, but because of social ones.
Most experts agree that the ideal solution to the problem would be a shift in national consciousness. To this end, the United Network for Organ Sharing, the American Medical Association, the National Institute of Health and many other organizations have stepped up efforts to educate the public about the benefits of donation. These groups hope that if more people understand the need for organs and the tremendous benefit of donation, they will begin to see donation as their social responsibility. They will understand that organ transplantation is truly one of the most remarkable achievements of modern science, and that organ donation is among the greatest opportunities to serve humanity.
Sixty years ago, scientists were on the cusp of a revolutionary scientific breakthrough. In the preceding decades, researchers had had some success transplanting organs in animals, and there had even been a few failed attempts at human organ transplants. Numerous studies showed that human organ transplantation was feasible, and that it would be enormously beneficial to thousands of patients, but nobody had been able to make it work.
Success finally came in the early 1950s, when several kidney transplants within a few years gave new life to ailing patients. In the following decades, doctors learned how to transplant other organs successfully, and they dramatically improved recovery rates. Today, most organ transplants are relatively safe, routine procedures, and transplantation is considered to be the best treatment option for thousands of patients every year.
The Screen, list and Match :
Organ transplants are one option when a particular organ is failing. Kidney failure, heart disease, lung disease and cirrhosis of the liver are all conditions that might be effectively treated by a transplant. For problems with the heart, the lungs and other highly sensitive organs, a transplant is typically the course of last resort. But if all other avenues have been explored and the patient is willing and able, transplantation is a good, viable option.
Kidneys and livers may be transplanted from a living donor, since people are born with an extra kidney and the liver is regenerative. Even a lung can be transplanted from a living donor, but this is still very rare. For these procedures, a patient will generally find a willing donor in a friend or family member. If the donor is a match, they can proceed directly to the surgery stage. A smaller number of living transplants come from charitable people donating for the general good.
The Surgery :
Organ transplant procedure
statistics of organ transplant
When a donor's family authorizes the removal of organs, several surgical teams immediately begin work recovering the organ. (While the term harvesting is still in use, many organizations now prefer the term recovery because it is more sensitive to the donor family.) To understand what is involved in this procedure, let's focus on a particularly harrowing operation: the heart transplant.
The first step for all the harvesting teams is to cut open the donor's chest. Next, a surgeon saws through the breast bone and pulls the ribs outward to reveal the heart. While other teams are working on other parts of the body, the heart team clamps the different blood vessels leading into the heart and pumps in a cold, protective chemical solution. This solution stops the heart from beating and helps preserve it during transportation.
The surgeons then sever the vessels and remove the heart from the body, placing it in a bag filled with a preservative chemical. This bag is then packed in an ordinary cooler filled with ice, which is rushed to the recipient's hospital, often via plane or helicopter.
Meanwhile, the recipient is fully anesthetized and his or her chest is shaved. He or she is wheeled into the surgery room and covered in sterile cloths, leaving only the chest exposed. Typically, the surgery won't actually begin until the heart arrives, just in case there is some problem in transport.
When the donated heart has arrived, the transplant team begins the procedure. First, they hook up an IV and inject an anticoagulant into the patient's bloodstream. This keeps the blood from clotting during the transplant procedure.
Improving the system :
Forty years ago, countless people died because doctors could not successfully perform a transplant and prevent rejection. The knowledge of immunosuppressive drugs was minimal, and the surgery involved was extremely difficult.
Today, science has advanced to the point that most transplant operations are considered relatively low risk. The success rate is phenomenal for kidney transplants, liver transplants, cornea transplants, pancreas transplants -- even heart and lung transplants. But more than 5,000 potential transplant recipients die in the United States every year, not because of scientific obstacles, but because of social ones.
Most experts agree that the ideal solution to the problem would be a shift in national consciousness. To this end, the United Network for Organ Sharing, the American Medical Association, the National Institute of Health and many other organizations have stepped up efforts to educate the public about the benefits of donation. These groups hope that if more people understand the need for organs and the tremendous benefit of donation, they will begin to see donation as their social responsibility. They will understand that organ transplantation is truly one of the most remarkable achievements of modern science, and that organ donation is among the greatest opportunities to serve humanity.
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