Organ donation is the removal of the organs or tissues of the human body from a person who has recently died, or from a living donor, for the purpose of transplanting them into other persons. People of all ages may be organ and tissue donors. Organ and tissue donation is the ultimate humanitarian act of charity.
The commonly transplanted organs are kidneys, heart, liver, lungs and pancreas
(currently no pancreas transplant has been done in Malaysia) while the transplantable tissues are cornea (eyes), arteries or veins, intestines, tendons, ligaments ,bones, skin and heart valves.
There are two sources of organ donation, which are from the living donors or from cadaveric donors. Most living donors were closely related to the
recipient, usually family members. Such close relatives were likely to have
close tissue match to the recipient, resulting in excellent outcomes. It is now possible to achieve similar outcomes using living
donors who are unrelated to the recipient, but only emotionally related such as
spouses are sometimes found to have a compatible blood group and tissue
match to the potential recipient, with the advent of improved immunosuppressive medications (anti-rejection medications).
Other than that, organs from cadaveric donors are allocated to the best tissue matched patients on the transplant waiting list. Potential cadaveric donors with a history of cancer or transmissible viruses such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV are not considered for organ donation. There are 2 sources of cadaveric donors, which are the heart-beating donors and the non heart-beating donors.
The heart-beating donors have suffered severe trauma to the brain. These patients must be ventilated in an intensive care unit and medically certified as 'brain stem" dead (meaning that all functions of the brain have ceased), in order to be considered as organ donors. In other words, life cannot be sustained. Heart beat and lung function are artificially maintained by a respirator. Heart, kidney and liver transplants are only possible from heart beating donors. For non heart-beating donors, tissue such as cornea (eye), skin and heart valves are donated. These tissues can only be procured after cardiac death.
However, there are more advantages of receiving organs or tissues from living donors. Firstly, it reduces time dependent on dialysis, particularly important for diabetics and young children. It also allows for specific planning of operation(the best time for donor and recipient).Moreover, the recipient requires less immunosuppressive drugs, therefore having fewer side effects. Lastly, it is more likely to be successful if the donor is related to the recipient.
The commonly transplanted organs are kidneys, heart, liver, lungs and pancreas
(currently no pancreas transplant has been done in Malaysia) while the transplantable tissues are cornea (eyes), arteries or veins, intestines, tendons, ligaments ,bones, skin and heart valves.
There are two sources of organ donation, which are from the living donors or from cadaveric donors. Most living donors were closely related to the
recipient, usually family members. Such close relatives were likely to have
close tissue match to the recipient, resulting in excellent outcomes. It is now possible to achieve similar outcomes using living
donors who are unrelated to the recipient, but only emotionally related such as
spouses are sometimes found to have a compatible blood group and tissue
match to the potential recipient, with the advent of improved immunosuppressive medications (anti-rejection medications).
Other than that, organs from cadaveric donors are allocated to the best tissue matched patients on the transplant waiting list. Potential cadaveric donors with a history of cancer or transmissible viruses such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV are not considered for organ donation. There are 2 sources of cadaveric donors, which are the heart-beating donors and the non heart-beating donors.
The heart-beating donors have suffered severe trauma to the brain. These patients must be ventilated in an intensive care unit and medically certified as 'brain stem" dead (meaning that all functions of the brain have ceased), in order to be considered as organ donors. In other words, life cannot be sustained. Heart beat and lung function are artificially maintained by a respirator. Heart, kidney and liver transplants are only possible from heart beating donors. For non heart-beating donors, tissue such as cornea (eye), skin and heart valves are donated. These tissues can only be procured after cardiac death.
However, there are more advantages of receiving organs or tissues from living donors. Firstly, it reduces time dependent on dialysis, particularly important for diabetics and young children. It also allows for specific planning of operation(the best time for donor and recipient).Moreover, the recipient requires less immunosuppressive drugs, therefore having fewer side effects. Lastly, it is more likely to be successful if the donor is related to the recipient.
YING YING
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