Transplants
Transplants are one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine.
They involve the donation of organs from one person to another and typically
enable nearly 3,000 people to take on a new lease of life in the UK every year.
Transplants are the best possible treatment for most people with organ failure.
Kidney transplants are the most commonly performed. Transplants of the heart,
liver and lungs are also regularly carried out. As medicine advances, other
vital organs including the pancreas and small bowel are also being used in
transplants. Tissue such as corneas, heart valves, skin and bone can also be
donated.
The increasing effectiveness of transplantation means that many more patients
can be considered for treatment in this way. But there is a serious shortage of
donors.
For some people this means waiting, sometime for years, and undergoing difficult
and stressful treatment. For all too many it means they will die before a
suitable organ becomes available.
UK Transplant is committed to saving or dramatically improving many more lives
by increasing the number of organs available for donation.
Reproduced with kind permission of
www.uktransplant.org.uk
Give the gift of life. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register. Organ Donor Line 0845 60 60 400
https://www.uktransplant.org.uk
Further
information
|
This article published on
Next review date
Categorie(s)
General
Areaof
the body
Not applicable
Male
or female?
Both |