Organ Transplants Essay Research Paper Organ TransplantsBeing

Organ Transplants Essay, Research Paper

Organ Transplants

Being assigned the subject, organ transplants, I realized very quickly that this

could cover a broad area. Does this mean animal to human transplants, (there’s no way I

am going to get into the rights of animals on this one) artificial organ transplants, living

donor transplants or partial transplants, such as bone marrow and fetal brain cells, cloning

body parts to make them available for transplant or transplants from a cadaver. I decided

in order to write a productive paper I would need to focus on one or two areas I have

chosen human transplants as I know someone personally who has had to deal with this.

Science and technology have advanced a long way since the first transplant. Limb

transplants have become the newest frontier in medical transplants.

Transplants are not always used to just save lives but many times transplants are

done to make the quality of life better for the recipient . “About 25 human organs can

now be transplanted and the list is growing daily. The most commonly performed

transplantations are the kidney, cornea, and bone marrow transplants” (The Volume

Library 1034).

Kidneys for transplantation may be obtained from living donors or cadavers; other

organs can be obtained only from cadavers. Organs from cadavers must be obtained very

soon after death; they may, however, subsequently be preserved for some hours by cooling

and other procedures.

Liver transplantation is technically very difficult, and the transplant must begin to

function at once if the patient is to survive, since there is no satisfactory artificial liver. On

the other hand, rejection is more easily prevented in a kidney transplant .

I am sure you remember the series of Frankenstein movies that were once out. In

case you don’t know, Dr. Frankenstein collected body parts from several different

cadavers to make a super human. Many refer to organ transplantation as Dr.

Frankenstein Method of saving lives. Their point being that it is ghoulish to take a body

part from one person and put it in another. I feel that this is a unfair and uneducated

referral to a life saving technique that is giving hope to persons who were at one time in a

hopeless situation.

Such was the case with Kenny Lutz as he returned from working a 12-hour shift

one day. He became ill and drove himself to the hospital only to find out that he had

cardiomyopathy. There is no cure for the disease but doctors managed it for several years

with medication and a pacemaker. Also a AICD was installed in his chest. Even though he

seemed to defy all the odds , his health continued to deteriorate. It became apparent that

he would need a heart transplant. Doctors were telling his family it was just a matter of

hours and then the news came that a donor heart had been found. “A 32-year old man had

lost his life in a tragic car accident in Indianapolis, Indiana, and his family had donated his

organs. The heart was a perfect match and the transplant took place. His health improved

immediately” (The Journal Gazette).

Kenny and his wife Gale were here to visit last spring. He had a overnight case of

anti-rejection medication and other medicines he had to take but he seemed quiet well.

Before he left I had to ask if at any time he felt that other man’s emotions and etc. After

all he had the heart of another man in him. He stated he was different; however, he did

not feel that it was from the donor heart. He said no one could come that close to death

and not be a changed man. Kenny is still doing quiet well.

Heart transplantation resembles liver transplantation in that the patient’s life

depends on the transplant’s ability to function at once. It is a technically easier operation,

but rejection is difficult to recognize early and seems even more difficult to prevent.

Other human organs that have been transplanted with at least some success include

the pancreas and the lungs. Lungs have been grafted most successfully when combined

with the heart in a heart-and-lung transplant.

Corneal transplants from cadavers have been highly successful. Rejection rates are

low because the graft bed has no blood vessels but is nourished by diffusion from the

tissues. Since blood carries most of the rejection factors, corneal allografts survive

indefinitely.

A big argument against transplants is religion; however, controversial to what

many may say, none of the major world religions oppose organ donation. Amish,

Buddhism, Catholicism, Christian Science, Greek Orthodox, Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah’s

Witness, Judaism, Protestantism, Mormon, and Quaker all permit, allow, and support

transplantation and organ donation.

Another argument against organ transplants is that the distribution of organs

available for transplant is done unfairly. Many claim that the wealthy and powerful receive

the organs first .

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