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The Contribution Of An Organ Transplant

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An organ transplant “is a surgical operation where a failing or damaged organ in the human body is removed and replaced with a new one” (Center for Bioethics). The first organ transplant was provided in 1954, where a kidney was taken from one identical brother to another, lasting for eight years. Eventually more successful organ transplants began to occur such as in 1962 the first cadaveric transplant was a success prolonging life for almost two years. In 1966 a successful liver transplant had a lifespan of one year and in 1967 the first successful heart transplant lasted for two and a half weeks. In 1981 the first successful heart-lung transplant gave life to its recipient for five years and in 1982 was the first artificial heart transplant was performed. In 1983 Cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug was approved by the FDA. The first successful living-related liver transplant happened in 1989 and in 1996 the first “split liver” transplant was performed where one cadaveric liver was split into several pieces to transplant into more than one person. In 2001 the number of living organ donations passed cadaveric donations and from 2001 to present time several organizations are doing their best to persuade people to be living organ donors and become a organ donor after death (Center for Bioethics). If you need an organ you will need to evaluated by a transplant physician and they will determine where you will be placed on the transplant list. The transplant list is very

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