We know the importance of organ donation and awareness. The selfless act of organ donation saves and benefits countless lives. Thinking through these topics, you may wonder how the transplantation process works and what factors surround it. Look no further because today’s blog is all about organ transplantation—the process, patients, and logistics of it all.
The Overview
Organ transplantation is, as you may know, the process of replacing an unhealthy or failing organ with a healthy one. Organ donors are either recently deceased or committed to becoming an organ donor before their death or are living donors. Living organ donations consist of kidney or liver transplants, as you can live with only one kidney, and your liver regenerates. The recipient of the organ undergoes major surgery to accept the donation. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of healthy and available organs due to a low number of donors, so not everyone who needs an organ transplant can get one. Recipients can wait years before receiving a transplant, and others don’t have that much time to wait. Around 40,000 organ transplants occur in the US every year; however, the need always exceeds the supply. Read more about organ donation and how you can get involved in saving lives here!
The Process
Matching: The major organs that can be donated are your liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, lungs, intestines, uterus, and some other tissues. If a healthcare provider recommends a transplant for any of these organs, they will make a referral to a transplant hospital, where an evaluation process will commence. Once the hospital has determined if the patient meets the criteria and qualifies for a transplant, they will be placed on a waiting list. UNOS (the United Network for Organ Sharing) oversees this list. The patient waiting must be matched with a donor. Matching involves checking that the donor and receiver’s blood type, body size, and physical factors are compatible. Once this is determined, the needs and priorities of patients are considered before officially matching an organ to a recipient.
Coordination: Once the recipient matches an organ, the transplant center they are connected with will receive information about the organ and ask if they accept. Once accepted, logistics must be coordinated. This involves notifying the patient, arranging medical staff and operating space, and ensuring the arrival of transplant surgery teams.
Recovery: Specialized surgical transplant teams are highly trained and qualified to recover organs from the donor. This process is done with tremendous care and respect for the donor and their family. Extreme caution is taken in preserving the donor’s body as much as possible so that families still have all options available for end-of-life plans and celebrations. The extracted organs then must be packaged in specified containers and maintained at the proper temperature while in transit to the recipient.
Transportation: The organ now has an exciting and crucial journey to the healthcare facility of the recipient. This can involve a simple drive to another hospital or may require air transport depending on the location of both donor and recipient. Some organs have as little as 6 hours of viability, so the transportation process needs to be fast and efficient. The organ must have perfect transport conditions as well in terms of time, temperature, and stability.
Transplantation: Upon the organ’s arrival, the recipient will wait at their healthcare facility. The surgery now begins, which can be complex and may take several hours. Once complete, the recipient will begin their rehabilitation process to ensure acceptance of the organ and an efficient recovery. The donor’s family will also be thanked and notified of a successful transplant. The identities of both recipient and donor are kept confidential in most cases unless either party has disclosed and wanted to share their identity with the other.
The Why
Donating your organs after death can save up to eight lives, restore the sight of two people, heal 75 burn and wound victims, and change a recipient’s life forever and, by extension, all of their family and loved ones’ lives. Making a living donation can also have so many positive effects on either those you know or complete strangers. The world we live in can always use some good. Registering as an organ donor is just one way to accomplish that!