Transplant Surgery
Transplant surgery is the use of organs taken from one person and put into another person to replace an organ that is malfunctioning or diseased.
A wide range of organs can now be transplanted successfully (from hearts to eye corneas), but there are problems in that the organs have to be compatible, and drugs usually have to be used to prevent the donated organ being rejected by the host.
However, transplant surgery is very effective and gives life and hope to people for whom there is otherwise no hope.
There are two types of transplant surgery:
• One uses organs from a person who has just died.
• The other uses organs from a living person which they can live without (for example, bone marrow, single kidneys).
A wide range of organs can now be transplanted successfully (from hearts to eye corneas), but there are problems in that the organs have to be compatible, and drugs usually have to be used to prevent the donated organ being rejected by the host.
However, transplant surgery is very effective and gives life and hope to people for whom there is otherwise no hope.
There are two types of transplant surgery:
• One uses organs from a person who has just died.
• The other uses organs from a living person which they can live without (for example, bone marrow, single kidneys).