Transplantation timeline

Transplantation timeline

THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE
Sunday, May 06, 2007

1668 * First successful bone graft. (Bone was taken from a dog’s skull to repair a defect in a human cranium.)

1869 * First skin transplant from one individual to another

1906 * First corneal transplant

1908 * Successful cadavaric knee joint transplant

1954 * First kidney transplant (first organ transplant)

1963 * First liver and lung transplants

1964 * First hand transplant

1967 * First heart transplant

1968 * Congress passes the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act that makes donating organs and tissues legal

1969 * First pancreas transplant

1978 * First immunosuppressive (anti-rejection) drug introduced

1982 * First artificial heart transplant

1983 * The Federal Food and Drug Administration approves the drug cyclosporine, which reduces rejection of a transplanted organ or tissues

1984 * Congress passes the National Organ Transplant Act, which establishes that an Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network will allocate donated organs and tissues; and prohibits the selling of organs and tissues. The act also establishes the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, a government unit within the Public Health Service Division of Transplantation, to oversee contractual activities.

1986 * The United Network for Organ Sharing becomes the operator of the network to allocate donated organs and tissues and sets membership criteria and standards for transplant centers in the United States.

1987 * Medicare pays for heart transplants performed at hospitals that meet criteria set by the Health Care Financing Administration

1987 * The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act is amended to facilitate organ donation by providing a uniform legal environment throughout the country.

1988 * The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations sets donor standards and requires hospital policies and procedures for organ and tissue procurement

1989 * 200,000 tissue transplants performed in the United States.

1990 * Medicare pays for liver transplants that meet specific medical criteria performed at approved hospitals.

1996 * Congress authorizes mailing organ and tissue donation information with income tax refunds sent to about 70 million households

1996 * 500,000 tissue transplants performed in the United States.

1999 * Organ Donor Leave Act is passed, increasing the amount of leave time for a federal employee who wishes to be a donor, allowing seven days for bone marrow donation and 30 days for a living organ donor.

1999 * Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Final Rule sets forth improvements governing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network published in 1998. The purpose is to achieve the most equal and medically effective use of human organs donated for transplantation.

2000 * The Children’s Health Act amends the Public Health Service Act and uses the network to address the special needs of children under the age of 18 in organ transplantation. It also asks the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to carry out studies to improve procedures for organ donation procurement and allocation, particularly for children with special needs, minority groups and those with limited access to transportation; and to determine the costs of immunosuppressive drugs to children and insurance coverage for such costs.

2001 * First self-contained mechanical heart transplant

2002 * United Network for Organ Sharing makes available up-to-the-minute data on the number of people waiting for organ transplants in the United States.

2003 * Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designates April as National Donate Life Month. The month is proclaimed as such each year in a declaration by the President of the United States.

2004 * The Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act provides grants to states to support organ donation awareness, education and outreach programs and materials of the public and healthcare professionals; provides grants to qualified organ procurement organizations and hospitals to establish programs to increase the rate of organ donation; provides financial assistance to living donors to help defray travel, subsistence and other incidental non-medical expenses; and establishes mechanisms to evaluate the long-term effects of living organ donation.

Since 1998 * Worldwide, there have been more than 411,000 kidney transplants, 55,000 liver transplants, 44,000 heart transplants, 76,000 bone marrow transplants and 6,000 lung transplants.

Sources: www.organdonor.gov; www.donorcare.org, www.pirweb.org and www.optn.org

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