What is Multi Organ Transplant?
The procedure where the organ is taken from another living being in order to replace the diseased organ by the healthy organ that functions properly. The transplanted organs are those organs that cannot be treated with the help of any medical drugs or with any kind of surgeries.
The different organs that can be transplanted are kidneys, intestine, lungs, pancreas, heart and liver. The different tissue that can be both transplanted and donated are bone marrow, skin, heart, middle ear, tendons and the valves.
Which Human organs can be transplanted successfully ?
Following organs can be transplanted –
- Intestine
- Heart and Lungs ( both can be transplanted simultaneously)
- Liver
- Lungs
- Pancreas and Kidney (both can be transplanted simultaneously)
- Kidney
- Pancreas
Organ Transplant Matching Process
Different factors in considering organ matching and allocation
Both logistical and medical characteristics are thoroughly measured for an organ so as to distribute it to the best matched recipient candidate. The matching criterion consists of-
- The relative distance between the recipient and the donor
- The size of the organs needed and blood type
- The time spent awaiting the transplant
Factors to be considered before organ matching
- It is important to know whether the recipient is an adult or a child
- The medical urgency of the recipient
- The degree of the immune system matches between the recipient and donor
Organ Matching Process
- First step is to donate an organ
- Then the UNOS lists the potential recipients
- The third step is to notify the transplant center about an available organ
- Then the transplant team processes the organ for the recipient
- The organ is either accepted or declined
Organ Transplant Waiting List
To be on the national waiting list, the patient is required to visit at a transplant hospital. The physician will examine the patient carefully in order to determine the present condition of health and medical history and thereby deciding that the patient is convincible enough to be listed .
Organ Distribution Policy
The first step to distribute the organs locally and if there are no recipients then the organs are regionally offered and finally they are nationally distributed. The purpose is to place the organs of the donor.
Organ Donation Facts
The organ can be donated by-
- Anyone above 18 years of age can become an organ donor
- If the organ is donated after death, then a detailed medical assessment is done to decide which organ can be successfully donated.
- The conditions that can exclude the organ donation are HIV, severe infections, kidney disease, heart disease and any type of Cancer.
Organ Donors
Both living and brain dead can be organ donors. The person who received an injury either pathological or traumatic to that specific part of the brain that controls the process of breathing and heartbeat, the person is declared as brain dead. The brain dead person is suitable for organ donation.
Living Donor : A living donor could be a family member like parents, brother or sister. A living donor can donate renewable cells, fluid or tissues. The living donor can also donate small bowel, a partial donation of liver and a single kidney.
Deceased Donor (cadaveric) : These are those donors who are declared as brain dead and their organs are kept workable in ventilators till the time they can be used for transplantation.
Bone Marrow Transplant
Bone marrow is a surgical process where the destroyed or damaged bone marrow is switched with healthy bone marrow stem cells. These are basically semi-solid tissues that are found in the spongy portions of the bones and are a site for new blood cell production.
Hair Transplant
It is a surgical technique used to remove or transplant hair from one part of the body (donor site) to a bald part of the body (recipient site). Hair transplant surgery can be opted by both male and female. The donor hair can be used for scalp, eyelashes, beard, chest, and eyebrows.
Heart Transplant
A heart transplant is a surgery to replace a patient’s heart with a healthy heart. The surgery is performed on patients with severe coronary artery disease or end-stage heart failure. Heart transplant treatment is for only those who have tried other surgeries and medication but their health hasn’t recovered.
Kidney Transplant
Kidney transplant is a surgical procedure for replacing the diseased or no longer functional kidney with a healthy one. The kidneys are very vital for the proper functioning of the body as they filter and remove excess water, fluid and minerals from the blood in the form of urine. Also known as a renal transplant, it is opted by those who don’t want to spend their life on dialysis (a machine for filter waste from the blood).
Liver Transplant
The liver transplant, also known as hepatic transplant is a replacement surgery of a diseased or non-functional liver with a healthy liver of another person. The transplant is performed on patients suffering from acute liver failure or end-stage liver disease. However, in such cases, the availability of donor organs can come as a major drawback.
