Irreversible Organ Failure Essay

Today we are in great need of a solution to solve the problem of the shortage of human organs available for transplant. The website for Donate Life America estimates that in the United States over 100 people per day are added to the current list of over 100,000 men, women, and children that are waiting for life-saving transplants. Sadly enough, approximately 18 people a day on that list die just because they cannot outlive the wait for the organ that they so desperately need to survive. James Burdick, director of the Division of Transplantation for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services confirms, “The need for organ transplants continues to grow and this demand continues to outpace the supply of transplantable organs”. The

With many causes of organ failure that led to a death sentence a long-term treatment needed to be found. In December 1954, the first organ was transplanted from living donor to living recipient, who was between twin siblings, was to be the next direction of treatment. With the invention of an immunosuppressant cyclosporine, the cure was thought to have been found for organ failure. It would have been the answer to the organ failure until the procurement laws were not able to keep up with the need for organs, which formed a list of patients called the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). The scientist and physicians went back to the drawing board to come up with bioengineered organs with the used of stem cell on matrices. Multiple

In a world where life expectancy has increased tremendously over the last century because of new technology and medical procedures, we find humanity ever pushing the boundaries on what it can do to prevent loss of life where possible. One example is the area of organ donation and transplantation. However, unlike many other technologies or procedures which can be built, manufactured, or learned, organ transplantation requires one thing that we can’t create yet: an organ itself. Because our increased life span causes more people to require a replacement organ when theirs starts to fail, the demand has far outrun the supply and the future only looks to get worse. “Between the years 1988 and 2006 the number of transplants doubled, but the

Now that organ transplantation has become a popular medical solution to end-stage organ failure, about every 10 minutes another person in need of an

     Recently, the low numbers of human donor organs and short term mechanical “organ” replacements have given cause for

As technology advances and medical procedures and research expand, new treatments and new conflicts are created. A problem that has always plagued medical science is failing organs. As of today, organ failure is impossible to reverse and the only solution is replacement. There is a massive demand for healthy organs and with this demand comes the issue of bioethics.

The medical practice of organ transplantation has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 50 years. Each year the medical profession takes more risk with decisions regarding transplants, how to allocate for organs, and most recently conducting transplants on children with adult organs. “An organ transplantation is a surgical operation where a failing or damaged organ in the human body is removed and replaced with a new one” (Caplan, 2009). Not all organs can be transplanted. The term “organ transplant” typically refers to transplants of solid organs: heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and intestines. There are two ways of receiving an organ transplant: from a living human or an organ from a

Throughout time Organ transplanting has been an important medical procedure that has been present, not only in the United States, but around the globe. It is the process of surgically removing an organ from on patient and then transplanting it into the other. This practice is usually used when a recipient’s own organ fails to function properly or has

This field of study is quickly growing, but the people waiting for organs is also growing. Those studying organ transplant have said that organ donation is “spoken as a gift of life.”(Shaw, 2015) The waiting line for organs is growing because not as many people have been donating their organs. Every ten minutes someone is added to the waiting list and, on average, 22 people die every day from not getting the organ they need. Around 118,454 people need an organ to save their lives. Out of those 118,454 people, only 75,919 people are active on the organ waiting list. In 2017 about 2,801 organ transplants have been performed so far. They took records starting from January 1, to March 3, 2017. The waiting list has not declined over the years. In fact, it has rose from about 80,000 people in 2003, and was at 120,000 people in 2015. The amount of transplants per year has stayed about even from 2003 to 2015. In 2003, it was about 25,000 performed and in 2015, there was close to 30,000 performed. So even though there has been many advancements in technology and medicine, the amount of donors from 2003 to 2015 has only been about 18,000 per year. When someone donates one organ, it can save up to eight lives. In 2016, the amount of people who need an organ is 33,500. This is the highest amount ever recorded and is the new record. On March 5, 2017, there has been 98,115 people waiting on a kidney. 47

Recent medical advances have greatly enhanced the ability to successfully transplant organs and tissue. Forty-five years ago the first successful kidney transplant was performed in the United States, followed twenty years later by the first heart transplant. Statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing (ONOS) indicate that in 1998 a total of 20,961 transplants were performed in the United States. Although the number of transplants has risen sharply in recent years, the demand for organs far outweighs the supply. To date, more than 65,000 people are on the national organ transplant waiting list and about 4,000 of them will die this year- about 11 every day- while waiting for a chance to extend their life through organ donation

Despite medical and technological advances, the demand for organs continues to be greater than the supply. “On average, 22 people die each day while waiting for a transplant, [and although] 95% of U.S. adults support organ donation, only 48% are actually [registered] as donors.”

Organ donating is a surgical procedure. In simple terms, it is removing a specific organ or tissue from a donor, and transplanting it into a recipient (Cleveland Clinic, 2014). Unfortunately, the recipient is receiving the transplant because his or her own organ failed, or is no longer functioning properly. When one needs a transplant, their name is put on a waiting list. In the United States, there are more than 122,344 people on the waiting list and a new name is added, on average, every 12 minutes (American Transplant Foundation, “Facts,” 2014). For many of the patients on the transplant list, receiving a transplant “offers the hope of disease cure” (Thomas & McKeown, 2012). One donor can save eight people with organs, and enhance 50 other people’s lives with tissues (Oxiem Brand Interactions, 2013). About 7% of the patients on the list, or more than 6,500 patients, die each year because they did not receive a transplant (American Transplant Foundation, “Facts,” 2014). On December 23, 1954, the very first liver transplanted from a living donor to a recipient took place. The transplant to place at Brigham Hospital in Boston, and was

It all began in the 18th century, “researchers experimented with organ transplantation on animals and humans” (HRSA 1). During these experimentations, errors were made and countless amounts of failures resulted. By the mid- 20th century, successful organ transplants were being accomplished by scientists and physicians. In the year 1954, the “kidney was the first human organ to be transplanted successfully” (UNOS 1). Later on in the 1960’s, more human organ transplant procedures were performed in operating rooms. Some of the many,

The medical industry had been achieving more in the stage of medical advancements, though they are still in the early phase. Artificial organs have been one of those achievements. Although they have achieved such, artificial organs are not perfect. Most doctors as well as patients would prefer to replace a dying organ with a compatible human organ, rather than with an artificial or animal organ. Yet due to a there being less organs donated than recipients, artificial and animal organs are becoming more common in transplants. Most of this issue is because people are unaware of how organ donation works, the organs that can be donated, how many people are in need, and the advancements that have happened in the field. Organ donation saves hundreds of lives every year, but many lives are recklessly lost due to a shortage of organ donors.

As of November 30th, 2017, 116,080 people formed the organ transplant waiting list. On average, twenty people on this list will die today. The number of people that need an organ transplant continues to grow; every ten minutes a new name is added to the list. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “only 3 in 1,000 people die in a way that allows for organ donation” (“Organ Donation Statistics”). In order for a deceased person to give organs, the organs must still be alive to donate. Organ transplantation improved greatly over the last century, but with an insufficient amount of organs available, it limits breakthroughs. In essence, new methods need to replace the unavailable organs. These methods drastically improve the process of organ transplantation, and in the future, the overall humans well-being.