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Organ Transplantation

Introduction

A medical procedureperformed by a team of highly specialized doctors in whichan functional organ is removed from the body of a donor andis transferred or placed in the body of a recipient or the patientsuffering from that specific organ failure.

For this procedure, thedonor and recipient can be found at the same location, or organsmay be transported from a donor place to another location of therecipient. This procedure can be lifesaving success and can givethe recipient a wonderful new way to live his/her life.It alsocarries a potential risks and drawbacks like the chances of organrejection.

Organsand/or tissues that are transplanted within the sameperson’s body are called autografts. Transplants that are recentlyperformed between two subjects of the same species arecalled allografts. Allografts can either be from aliving or cadaveric source.

The organs and tissuesthat can be transplanted are as follows:

• Heart and Lung from thechest region
• Kidney,Liver, Pancreas,Intestine, Stomach, Testis from the abdominal region
• Tissues, cells andfluids include hand,Cornea, Skin, Islets of Langerhans, Bone marrow/Adult stem cell,Blood transfusion, Blood Vessels, Heart Valve, Bone.

Sources oforgans/tissues

There are two sources oforgans or tissue transplants. They are as follows:

Living donor

As the name suggests,the donor in this condition remains alive and donates a tissue,cell, or fluid. The living donor can also donate an organ or partof an organ which can further regenerate. For example, Liver andkidneys.

There are two types ofliving donors:

• Living related donors(LRD)- Those donors who have blood relations or are blood relativesof the recipient are known as living related donors. For example,parents, children or siblings.
• Living unrelated donors(LURD)- Those donors who are not blood related are known as livingunrelated donors.For example,spouses or friends of therecipient.

Deceaseddonor

Deceased donors are alsoknown as cadaveric. There are 2 types of deceaseddonors:

• Brain deathdonors- Those donors who have an irreversible and totalloss of brain function are called as brain death donors. In thiscase the donor’s heart is working properly and beating continuouslywhen connected on a ventilator.
• Circulatorydeath donors- Those donors that suffer from catastrophicbrain injury but are not considered as brain dead. The furthertreatment is not consideredto be in the best interests so, the treatment is discontinued bystopping ventilation after taking permission from the family. Withthis their heart stops beating and they are declared asdead.

Social Issuesrelated to our culture and society that affects the organtransplantation

Social values and the death tabooinfluence the process and the act of organ donation and itstransplantation. It is believed that the body of the donordonating the organ would be treated very badly. Hence, they createa big issue in this act.

Ignorance and prejudiceare the major causes for the lack of response given by the societyfor the social need of organ donation. There is a huge impact ofthis inadequate social response. Research has shown that 22 deathsoccur everyday because of the non-availability of the organs andthe patient dies on organ donation waiting lists.

Legal status oforgan transplant in Pakistan

In 1979, renaltransplantation had started in Pakistan in public sector hospitals.The National Assembly of Pakistan passed the bill on therecommendation of its Standing Committee on Health on 12 November2009.The Senate of Pakistan passed the bill on 10 February 2010.The President of Pakistan signed the bill making it a law on 17March 2010.

Ethical Issuesrelated to transplant

The various ethical issues related totransplantation include the definition of death. It includes theissue of when and how the consent should be given for an organ tobe transplanted.

Another ethical issue isthe practice of organ trafficking or sale by entrepreneurs to earnhuge profits. Poor people are exploited by the richpeople.

The use of animal organsor xenotransplantation has also raised ethical issues which in thesociety.

The transplantation tourism violatesvarious humanrights and exploitthe poor people. It also provides unequal access of the services tothe poor people.

Religious standfor transplant

Different religious groups havedifferent views on organ donation.

Christianity or theChristians provide huge support for organ donations. They considerit as an altruistic act. They give full rights to the people andconsider this as an individual decision. They consider organdonation is an act of Christian duty.

In Islam, majority of Islamic religiousleaders support this act during life after death in order to savelife. But, Muslims are uncertain about whether or not Islamictradition considers this act of the organ donation to be forbidden.Laws have been passed to provide monetary compensation forkidney donationunder regulation inIslamic ruling nation, Iran.

In Hinduism, Hindu valuesreincarnation. They support the act of organdonation and prolonging life.

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