The History of Organ Donation and Transplantation

995 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethical pros and cons of organ donations

Organ donation is the surgical removal of organs or a tissue of one person to be transplanted to another person for the purpose of replacing a failed organ damaged by disease or injury. Organs and tissues that can be transplanted are liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, lungs, intestines, cornea, middle ear, skin, bone, bone marrow, heart valves, and connective tissues. Everyone regardless of age can consider themselves as potential donors. After one dies, he is evaluated if he is suited for organ donation based on their medical history and their age as determined by the Organ Procurement Agency (Cleveland Clinic). The main advantage of this medical surgery is that it is conceived for the purpose of saving people’s lives – one organ can save eight lives. For a recipient, it means it’s a second chance at life of not having to be dependent on expensive routine treatments to survive and live a normal lifestyle. The family of a deceased donor could take consolation thinking that their loved ones did not die in vain, rather they continue to live on other people’s life. The only downsides to organ donation would be the misconceptions. Families are often believe that the donor’s bodies were kept on life support while removing the tissues which is not entirely the case. Surgeons do not remove organs or tissues unless he is pronounced as brain-dead or dead. Another downside of this procedure is the fact that the donor can’t get to choose who receives the organ, however, there are organizations that arrange a meeting between the recipient and the donor though this can occur on rare cases (Emory Health Care). This study will review the practices of organ donation and its future medical advancements. 2. Idea of the Past Over the last cen... ... middle of paper ... ... organs which can be transplanted. Works Cited Cleveland Clinic (n.d.) Organ Donation and Transplantation. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/organ_transplant/hic_organ_donation_and_transplantation.aspx Emory Health Care (n.d.) Pros and Cons of Organ Donation. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://advancingyourhealth.org/transplant/2013/04/01/pros-cons-organ-donation/ Nadiminti, H. (2005) Organ Transplantation: A dream of the past, a reality of the present, an ethical Challenge for the future. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2005/09/fred1-0509.html Organ Transplants: A Brief History (21 February, 2012) Retrieved from History in the Headlines Website: http://www.history.com/news/organ-transplants-a-brief-history Shelley, J.L. (2010) History of Organ Transplantation. Des Moines University.

Show More
Related

  • Attention Getter Of Organ Transplants

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: I will explain the history of organ transplants, starting with ancient ideas before modern science until the 21st century.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On The Problem Of Organ Shortages

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    Carlstrom, Charles T., and Christy D. Rollow. "Organ Transplant Shortages: A Matter Of Life And Death." USA Today Magazine 128.2654 (1999): 50. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

    Read More

  • Waiting for an Organ Transplant

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    Organ transplantation is process of surgically transferring a patient with end-stage organ failure with a healthy compliant organ. This can be done when a patient’s organ has ceased working or when the organ does not meet its opportune function. In the article Organ Transplantation: The Process, the author claims that end-stage organ failure can be the product of cardiomyopathy, cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, cystic fibrosis, hepatitis, diabetes, hypertension, idiopathic pulmonary disease, and short gut syndrome.. Multiple organs can be transplanted at one time.

    Read More

  • Organ Donation: The Real Life Superheroes

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    A organ donation is where you take the healthy tissue from one person and transplant is to another person. The types of organs that can be donated are kidneys, heart, liver,pancreas, intestines, lungs, skin, bone marrow, and cornea. Your liver, kidneys, and bone marrow can be donated by a living donor. Your lung, heart, pancreas, intestines, and cornea come from a deceased organ donation. Database has listed al...

    Read More

  • Organ Transplant and Donation

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    .... The Trouble With Transplants | 5 Discoveries That Will Change The Future of Organ Transplants. Time. Retrieved from http://healthland.time.com/2013/06/06/5-discoveries-that-will-change-the-future-of-organ-transplants/slide/the-problem-with-transplants/

    Read More

  • Brain Death in Organ Donations

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    There has been a lot of debate concerning brain death within organ donations. This means whether the person is actually alive or dead when the doctors decide to harvest the organs. Some people and even organizations argue why it is they believe an individual is alive during the process while others argue why the donor isn’t alive. This essay shows the different positions of people and organizations regarding brain death.

    Read More

  • Organ Transplant: The Positive Effects Of Organ Donation

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    One single organ donor can save the lives of eight people and that same donor can help to improve health conditions of fifty other people as said by an article on facts about donation. Organ donation is when a living or deceased person's organs are taken out by medical physicians and surgically inserted into another person's body to help improve their health condition. The receiver and donor of the organ are not the only people affected by the transplant. Families of the donor will often become relieved knowing that their loved one will be continuing to help needy people even after they are gone and the families of the receiver will also sleep better knowing that there is still a chance that someone could help the medical status of their loved one. Organ transplant has also overcome many scientific challenges. Jekyll’s actions in Dr.

    Read More

  • Understanding the Complexities of Organ Donation

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most people when you think of organ donation you think that it concess of someone giving up an organ or someone receiving one. There is a lot more behind this process then just someone donating or receiving an organ. A person has to take in consideration if the person wants to give up their organs, if their religion allows them, how to learn to cope with losing their loved one passing, and more. Organ donation could involve a community and details with a person 's culture beliefs. Organ Donation is one question everyone has been asked, depending on how we allow it to impact us and what we believe.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Organ Transplantation

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    I am very interested in the topic of Organ transplantation. I am interested in biology and the process of surgeries. What intrigues me is the process of saving someone’s life in such a dramatic and complicated process. My dad happens to be a doctor and in his training he cut open a human body to see for himself the autonomy of the body. So being interested in the field of medicine is in my blood. Modern technology helps many people and saves people around the globe. However even with modern technologies that progress mankind, bio medical and ethical dilemmas emerge. And ultimately life falls into the hands of the rabbis, lawmakers and philosophical thinkers.

    Read More

  • Distributive Justice and Organ Transplants

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history physicians have faced numerous ethical dilemmas and as medical knowledge and technology have increased so has the number of these dilemmas. Organ transplants are a subject that many individuals do not think about until they or a family member face the possibility of requiring one. Within clinical ethics the subject of organ transplants and the extent to which an individual should go to obtain one remains highly contentious. Should individuals be allowed to advertise or pay for organs? Society today allows those who can afford to pay for services the ability to obtain whatever they need or want while those who cannot afford to pay do without. By allowing individuals to shop for organs the medical profession’s ethical belief in equal medical care for every individual regardless of their ability to pay for the service is severely violated (Caplan, 2004).

    Read More

  • Organ Donation Shortage

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the most important and prevalent issues in healthcare discussed nowadays is the concern of the organ donation shortage. As the topic of organ donation shortages continues to be a growing problem, the government and many hospitals are also increasingly trying to find ways to improve the number of organ donations. In the United States alone, at least 6000 patients die each year while on waiting lists for new organs (Petersen & Lippert-Rasmussen, 2011). Although thousands of transplant candidates die from end-stage diseases of vital organs while waiting for a suitable organ, only a fraction of eligible organ donors actually donate. Hence, the stark discrepancy in transplantable organ supply and demand is one of the reasons that exacerbate this organ donation shortage (Parker, Winslade, & Paine, 2002). In the past, many people sought the supply of transplantable organs from cadaver donors. However, when many ethical issues arose about how to determine whether someone is truly dead by either cardiopulmonary or neurological conditions (Tong, 2007), many healthcare professionals and transplant candidates switched their focus on obtaining transplantable organs from living donors instead. As a result, in 2001, the number of living donors surpassed the number of cadaver donors for the first time (Tong, 2007).

    Read More

  • Argument Against Organ Donation

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Organ donation is the process of giving an organ, or a part of an organ, to someone in need of it while the donor is dead or alive. However, if the donor is dead, he or she needs to be kept alive by doctors who use machines that circulate blood and oxygen through the organs until they are harvested.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Organ Donation

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    Organ donation is often perceived with doubt because many people do not know the truth. There are many myths out about the donating of organs that cause many people to opt not to. What many do not realize is the truth about organ donation. The body of the donor after the surgery is not mangled up and is presentable for the funeral. Organ donation is ethical and should not be looked down upon. Organ donating is there to save lives, not to hurt anyone. Many people think that they should be paid or given something in return for donating their organs, which is...

    Read More

  • Essay On Organ Transplants

    1921 Words  | 4 Pages

    The idea of organ transplants has been around for centuries, tracing back to myths by ancient Greeks and other early civilizations but people were unable to perform any surgeries for many years because they did not have the right technology and science to keep someone alive with a transplant. In the 1700’s, a Swiss naturalist, Abraham Trembley, observed the powers of organ regeneration in a tiny pond animal he called the hydra but could not do much with the information he gathered (Markovitz 98). It was in the early 1900’s when doctors started to try transplanting organs from one living thing to another. During this time, European doctors had patients dying of renal failure. In order to save them, they transplanted kidneys from different animals into them such as monkeys, pigs, and goats. Unfortunately, they were not successful and the patients never lived for more than a few days. Though organ transplants had not been successful, in 1905, Eduard Zirm, an Austrian ophthalmologist, was able to perform the world’s first corneal transplant. The procedure gave sight to a man who had been blinded in an accident. It was a good start to human transplants, but they were still a long way away. “In 1912, Alexis Carrell received a Nobel Prize for his work in the field. The French surgeon had developed methods for connecting blood vessels and conducted successful transplants on d...

    Read More

  • Essay About Organ Donation

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Organ transplants have been done in the United States since the 1950; Organ donations takes healthy organs and tissues from a human body, from a living or a dead person for transplantation into another. Transplanted organs and tissues replace diseased, damaged, or destroyed body parts. They can help restore the health of a person who might otherwise die or be seriously disabled .doctor first assesses whether the person is medically eligible for a transplant. If so, the doctor then refers the individual to a local transplant center. The transplant center evaluates the patient’s health and mental status as well as the level of social support to see if the person is a viable candidate for an organ transplant. once a person is accepted as a transplant candidate, the patient must wait until suitable donor organs are found, Organs and tissues that can be donated and used for transplants include kidneys, lungs, heart,...

    Read More

More about The History of Organ Donation and Transplantation

Open Document