––––––––––
🔴 In 2022, there were approximately 150,000 transplants worldwide.
––––––––––
1. Kidney. It is the most frequent transplant worldwide. Many diseases can lead to severe kidney failure, in which the kidneys do not fulfill their task of purifying the blood and removing toxins. In the case of advanced kidney damage, there is only dialysis treatment (a machine artificially eliminates toxins from the body) or a kidney transplant. Since it is possible to live with only one kidney without modifying one’s health, this is the most common transplant.
2. Liver. Although it is one of medicine’s most expensive surgical procedures, liver transplantation is the second most common. The liver is vital to the body, supporting digestion, storing nutrients, removing toxic products, and synthesizing proteins, enzymes, and glucose. We try to avoid a transplant, although there are serious situations, mainly due to hepatitis, in which the liver breaks down rapidly and irreversibly. The organ can be removed from a deceased person, as the liver remains functional for up to eight hours.
3. Heart. Heart transplantation is a surgical procedure with many risks, but it is often the only way to save a life. This transplant is possible with a deceased donor, who must meet many requirements to give his heart to someone in need. In addition, it must be done quickly after the donor’s death, as the heart remains functional for a few hours.
4. Lungs. Like the heart, lung transplantation is a complicated and risky surgical procedure reserved for severe cases of pulmonary insufficiency in which the patient does not respond to other treatments. Depending on the disease, one or both lungs (from a deceased donor) are transplanted.
5. Pancreas. It is an organ in the lower part of the stomach responsible for the production of insulin, a hormone that regulates the entry of glucose into the cells. If this fails, there is not enough insulin, which causes blood sugar levels to rise and type 1 diabetes develops. If the origin of diabetes is a pancreas malfunction, a transplant is necessary.
6. The retina. Although corneal transplants have been successfully performed for decades, it is not yet possible to replace the retina, the most anterior part of the eye that allows vision. This part of the body is made up of many nerve cell connections, and it is currently beyond the technical possibilities of medicine to transplant such a complex structure.
✅ Transplants are expensive, and not everyone can afford them. Costs include surgery and hospitalization, and immunosuppressive drugs needed after the procedure to prevent rejection of the organ received. In addition, finding a donor is also difficult because the lists are currently overloaded with patients waiting for the same organ. This situation leads many patients to seek alternatives, such as illegal organ procurement or health tourism, transplants in countries with higher survival risks.
🟦 ENCYCLOPEDIA ONLINE >
Transplant. Heart transplant. Appendicitis.
