Medical Transplantation
Medical Transplantation, transfer of a living tissue or organ to an injured or ill person to restore health or reduce disability. Over the past 45 years, surgeons have made great strides in their ability to implant organs in people who are seriously ill. At least 21 different organs—such as hearts, livers, and kidneys—and tissues—such as corneas and bone marrow—can now be successfully transplanted into patients who can then expect to survive for years or even decades. Improved surgical techniques are partly responsible for the success of organ transplants, but a more important factor is the development of drugs that can suppress the body’s rejection of the implanted organ without also leaving the patient highly susceptible to infections. Kidneys are the most common organs to be transplanted. Kidneys remove waste products from the blood stream. If they fail, often as a result of diabetes mellitus or cancer , a person can die from the buildup of these toxic materials. The waste products...