Understanding Organ Transplants: A Guide for Patients

If you or a loved one needs an organ transplant, it's essential to understand the process and gather as much information as possible. Organ transplantation involves surgically removing a healthy organ from one person and transplanting it into another person whose organ has failed or been injured. While often lifesaving, organ transplants are major surgeries that carry potential risks and responsibilities.

Types of Organ Transplants

In the United States, nine types of organ transplants are performed, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a nonprofit organization that administers the country's Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. These include:

• Kidney transplants

• Pancreas transplants

• Liver transplants

• Heart transplants

• Lung transplants

• Intestine transplants

• Vascularized composite allografts (VCAs), such as face and hand transplants

Sometimes, "double" transplants are performed, such as kidney/pancreas or heart/lung transplants.

The Organ Transplant Process

Once your doctor determines that you need an organ transplant, they will typically refer you to a transplant center. It's essential to be proactive and research transplant centers using resources like the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, which provides detailed reports on centers nationwide.

To get on the national transplant waiting list, contact the transplant hospital you and your doctor have chosen and ask for an evaluation. The transplant team will assess your medical history, current health status, and other factors to determine if you are a good candidate for the transplant. If accepted, you will be added to the national waiting list maintained by UNOS.

Organ Transplant Waiting Times and Policies

The average wait time for an organ transplant varies by organ, age, blood type, and other factors. For example, waiting times for deceased kidney donors can reach seven to 10 years. UNOS maintains a database called UNET, which manages data on the patient waiting list, organ matching, and transplants.

Organs are distributed first locally, then regionally, and finally nationally if no match is found. As of October 2021, about 106,800 people were on the waiting list nationwide for organs of all types.

Organ Donor Options

Donor organs can come from deceased or living donors. Living donors are arranged through individual transplant centers and can be a spouse, family member, or unrelated person such as a friend. Some programs allow proxy donors or paired kidney exchanges for incompatible donor-recipient pairs.

It is important to note that buying organs is illegal in the United States and is considered a felony.

Gathering Information on Organ Transplants

Many organizations provide helpful information on organ transplants, including:

• American Heart Association

• American Kidney Foundation

• American Liver Foundation

By educating yourself about your disease and gathering information on organ transplants, you can be an integral part of your care and make informed decisions throughout the process.