Organ Transplants - Research Paper Example

? ORGAN TRANSPLANT There has been a gradual improvement in the scientific field including health related issues and the concept of transplanting body organs has not been left out. In the past many lives had been lost due to fractured, displaced or completely severed organs that could easily be obtained from other living organisms and replaced. The technological explosion and increased research and development have lead to discovery of the organ transplant science. However this new concept has various safety and viability issues that must be taken into consideration before it can successfully be carried out. It is therefore imperative that further research is undertaken to improve the probability of positive results in organ transplant process in the contemporary world. Introduction Organ transplant is a health science concept which involve donation of a given organ by another organism to another who has a problem to the extent of dysfunction or malfunction of a similar organ. In simple example, Kidney failure of one person may lead to inefficient excretion and other metabolic processes in the body and to remedy this, a healthy person with all the two kidneys fully functional or an individual involved in fatal accident but through consent of the concerned authorities may donate a kidney to the kidney failure victim (Winters, 2000). Transplanting of organ has been done especially on vital organs that include heart, cornea, kidney, liver and others. The organism (which may be a human being or any other animal) giving the organ to be transplanted is referred to as the donor while the organism who is receiving the new organ is termed as the recipient. The procedure involved in obtaining the organ from the donor and transferring it to the recipient requires high technical knowhow and swift operation with the main goal of saving life of the two parties. With the inception of this science there has been a steady rise in emerging issues that if not looked into is likely to erase its effectiveness and reliability. Discussion A lot of resources were put in research and development to revolutionize health sector and organ transplant in particular. Before this concept, most victims who developed various organ failures or malfunctioning were to survive on backup medication or succumb to death. This situation has been reversed with the continued practice of removing such failed organ and seeking alternative functional ones from other organisms to save the life of the victim. However, a number of issues have been cropping up in respect of this operation which calls for further research work to ensure its sustainability. Top in this list is the biology behind the success of a transplant attempt. It is a fact that for a recipient body tissues and the entire system to accept the foreign organ, there must be compatibility in terms of the required blood groups as this is a fundamental basis for ensuring the safety of the recipient even after the procedure (Klein , Lewis & Madsen, 2011). In most cases there tend to be compatibility among family members and in the case that this is not possible, an outsider’s organ can be tested if it can match and if the result is positive the donation procedure can be done and subsequent transplant. Remarkable scientific research has been undertaken to the extent that incompatibility between the donor and recipient can be solved through medical prescription. In this scenario, the recipient is administered with a special treatment that will prevent the body tissues from rejecting the graft. Nevertheless, there are conditions that have always ruled out any possible organ transplant. Such conditions entails a fast spreading cancer on a donor, HIV/AIDS infected person. For a dead donor, thorough medical tests need also to be taken to eliminate any possible health risk on recipient. After the medical assessments, only living and non-defected organs may be removed for donation from the deceased donor. This also means that a dead donor can donate many organs at the same time to many recipients. The type of organ to be donated determines the living status of the donor. This is in regard to the number of such organs and their corresponding functionality (Schwartz, 2005). Take the case of heart or liver, these are single organs in the donor an in the event that it is transferred, the recipient cease to be alive. The mode of attaining such organs is through individuals who are brain dead but still on artificial life support. This means that the person is technically dead but the organs are still functional. However, the organs must be transferred and be used within the shortest time possible when they can still be supported by the donor in terms of their metabolic demands. Typical example of donors under the above mentioned conditions are people who have been involved in an accident that is injured beyond recovery and faces eminent death. A donor who gives who gives out an organ in a state of deceased is commonly referred to as cadaverous donors Another group of donors may remain alive after their organs have been transferred to another organism. This is possible in the case of two organs in each organism like is the case in kidney. In such cases, the donor who must have the two efficiently functional can give one and remain unaffected since even one can sufficiently sustain the functions of the body (Brezina, 2010). The only requirement in this case is legal consent of organ transfer and matching for compatibility. Body organs can undergo some defects that are irreversible and the only solution is replacing them for the victim to survive. This is a common case in accidents, organ failures and genetically related defects. It worth to note therefore that this has become the latest widely used medical remedy to improve the performance of the body and save many endangered lives across the globe. One of the emerging challenges in this application is the exponential population growth that has been piling pressure on the otherwise scarce resources. The number of skilled surgeons is still few to match the increasing number of patients facing such medical conditions. Besides, the number of donors is steadily diminishing as the population size of recipients keep surging and this a matter of great global concern. Some of the reasons that explain the vanishing donor numbers are the emerging infections that equally affect the efficiency of the alternate organs in living donors and cancerous cells in the cadaverous donors. Several patients are also relatively poor to afford the cost of compensating the donor, operational costs and the treatment that define the entire procedure. This has been complicated by the high cost of the organ transplant equipment and the entire surgery theatre facility. In response to such problems, United Nation’s agency on health (W.H.O) in collaboration with other international health stakeholders and various governments have put in place measures in an effort to make this medical assistance accessible to all and sundry (Miller & Truog, 2012). Various governments across the world have been promoting health and wellness through nationwide campaign coupled with wooing organ donations to assist patients. This involves a lot of interactive discussion and public awareness creation crusades at the local level. There is a policy that ensures that maximum post-donation care is accorded to the donor by the government for the living donors and government approved compensation made on behalf of the deceased donor. Global statistics on organ transplant shows a positive result on the outcomes. This calls for increased health promotion by the nurses, community health workers and other stakeholders to continue saving lives. More funding by the governments also needs to be projected towards research and development to develop alternatives. References Brezina, C. (2010). Organ Donation: Risks, Rewards, And Research. New York: Rosen Pub. Klein, A., Lewis, C. J., & Madsen, J. C. (2011). Organ Transplantation: A Clinical Guide. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Miller, F. G., & Truog, R. (2012). Death, Dying, And Organ Transplantation: Reconstructing Medical Ethics At The End Of Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Schwartz, T. P. (2005). Organ Transplants: A Survival Guide For The Entire Family: The Ultimate Teen Guide. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. Winters, A. (2000). Organ Transplant: The Debate Over Who, How, And Why. New York: Rosen Pub. Read More