What organs and tissues can be donated?
Did you know that 20 individuals pass away every day while awaiting a transplant? And that a single donor can save and mend more than 75 lives? By donating your organs, eyes, and tissues, you can significantly improve or even save the life of a person who is in need. By giving one, several, or even a partial organ to one or more transplant patients, organ donation delivers the gift of life. Organ and tissue donation can be the difference between life and death for patients and their families waiting for transplants. Up to eight lives can be saved by one donor’s organ donation after death. The liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, heart, intestines, and kidneys are among the organs that can be given.
Heart
Blood is pumped to every part of the body by the heart, which beats 60–80 times per minute and is the body’s hardest-working muscle. You must be critically ill despite medical treatment and in need of a new heart to survive in order to qualify for a heart transplant. You must also fulfill a number of very severe standards to be eligible for this type of transplant because donor hearts are scarce. To avoid rejection and problems after a transplant, you’ll require ongoing medical attention.
Kidneys
The most frequently transplanted and most desperately needed organ is the kidney. The function of the kidneys is to filter waste and extra water from the blood and maintain a healthy balance of bodily fluids. Candidates for a kidney transplant include those who are receiving dialysis because of excessive blood pressure, diabetes, or cystic kidney disease.
Liver
In addition to its more than 500 known functions, the liver also produces bile, which helps with digestion, breaks down noxious compounds in the blood, and stores nutrients like fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Because the liver performs so many different tasks, donating a liver can prevent damage from drugs or alcohol as well as chronic liver illnesses like hepatitis. One donor may potentially save the lives of two recipients if their liver is split between them on occasion.
Lungs
In order for the body to operate properly, the lungs must remove carbon dioxide and extract oxygen. Most patients who qualify for a lung transplant live longer and have a higher quality of life. The majority of people claim to have more energy and feel better equipped to handle daily tasks. You can work and take vacations more easily. Most people who are candidates for a transplant recover well, and their new lung continues to function for many years. In comparison to not having a transplant, a lung transplant generally results in a longer and higher quality of life.
Pancreas
The pancreas is necessary for humans to regulate insulin. The pancreas makes the hormone insulin, which aids in the body’s usage of glucose (sugar) for energy, as well as the digestive enzymes that break down fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The pancreas and kidney are frequently transplanted together because diabetes frequently affects both organs.
Intestines
The job of digesting meals and reabsorbing nutrients into the bloodstream falls to your intestines. You might require an intestinal transplant if you have twisted, obstructed, or short-gut syndrome.
Donate Body to Science
Donating your body to science can save lives in a variety of ways. Cadavers are used in educational settings to assist in the explanation of anatomy and physiology to medical students. The experience they need to comprehend human anatomy is provided to the pupils as a result. More importantly, it enables doctors, who throughout their careers must stay abreast of the developments brought about by ground-breaking medical discoveries. Practicing surgeons also employ whole body donations for surgical training and technique improvement. looking at ways to perform minimally invasive surgery, joint replacements, and other procedures better.