HISTORY OF TRANSPLANT

Sixty years ago, scientists were on the crisp of revolutionary

scientific breakthrough.

In the preceding decades, researchers had some

successful organs transplants in animals, but a few

attempts at human had failed.

… more historyStudies showed that human organs transplantation could be done, and that it would be

enormously beneficial to thousands patients, but till that moment, nobody had

been able to do it.

1950 Success finally came in, kidney transplants were carried out.

Following decades

Doctors started transplanting others organs successfully.

Shortage ProblemToday, most organs transplants are relatively safe. But doctors and patients now face a new obstacle there are not enough organs donors, so patients must wait for months or even years for their chance to be transplanted.

Living Donor Kidney and liver may be

transplanted from a living donor since people are born with an extra kidney and the liver is regenerative.

For this procedure, a patient generally finds a willing donor in a friend or family member that is a match.

… other kinds of donors.

If patients need heart, lungs, pancreas or cornea transplant; they will need to get it from a cadaverous deceased donor.

Acceptable donors are people who are brain dead but live on an artificial support. Even though they are technically dead, their body is still functioning which means the organs remain healthy .

Organs distribution system.• In the USA, a patient who wants an organ transplant

from a cadaverous donor must become part of an elaborate nation wide organ distribution system, known as the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), and is operated by (UNOS) an independent not profit organization which maintains a database of patients or waiting organs.

In our country (Argentina):

INCUCAI: A decentralized organization depending on the National Health Ministry, is the national authority that coordinates organ, tissue and cell procurement and transplantation.

SINTRA: Is the online database system that administrates and manages and supervises it in the national field.

Argentine Proud.

• Finally, with great honour, we would like to mention Dr Rene Favaloro (1923-2000) who was the first Argentine heart surgeon to perform successfully heart transplant surgery in Argentina.

• He was also a pioneer developing a technique called Cardiac Bypass. He had revolutionized thoracic surgery in a way that saved and it is still saving millions of patients with coronary disease in the world.

Questions

how politicians work to solve the organs shortage problem?

what is the difference between a living donor and a cadaverous donor?

Karin Mendoza- Ana Maria Lanza.