KNOW ORGAN TRANSPLANT
What is organ transplantation: Surgical removal of an organ such as heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidney from one person and planting it in another.
What is living organ donation: When the donor is alive and donates an organ to save the life of a person suffering from organ failure. This can be done only in the case of kidney and liver. Everyone has two kidneys and can live with one, while part of a liver can be taken from a donor and transplanted into another person. One kidney is capable of maintaining the body functions, while segments of liver regenerate after a period of time in both recipient and the donor.
What is cadaver or deceased
organ donation: When the organs of a dead person are donated. This happens in case of brain death.
What is brain death: It occurs due to severe injury or trauma. In cases of severe brain injury, the patient is put on the ventilator so that he/she can keep breathing. However, the patient is brain dead. Since the body is connected to the ventilator, the organs remain alive even though the person’s brain is dead. This is the only time organ donation is possible. In the event of brain death, all vital organs can be donated.
Natural death: In case a person dies of natural death the heart stops beating and only tissues can be donated. Tissues that can be transplanted include heart valves, tendons, ligaments, skin and parts of the eye such as cornea.
How quickly donated organs are transplanted:
Heart: 4-6 hours, Lungs: 4-8 hours, Intestine: 6-10 hour, Liver: 12-15 hour, Pancreas: 12-24 hours, Kidneys: 24-48 hours.