Mayo Clinic Forum on Organ Transplants
Mayo Clinic explains how many people are on transplant list
Posted: 04/28/2011
By: Mayo Clinic staff
Mayo Clinic is a sponsor of ABC15.
Many people in America are waiting for an organ transplant. April is organ donation month so ABC15 and Mayo Clinic teamed up for a special event to answer your questions.
If you missed the broadcast on April 27th, 2011, you can see and watch video of answers to questions that were submitted below.
ORGAN DONATION
Q: How do I sign up to become an organ donor?
A: Most states, like Arizona, encourage you to indicate your wishes on your driver’s license. In Arizona, to confirm your specific wishes, go to
http://www.azdonorregistry.org/ and follow the prompts. Importantly, be sure to tell your family of your wishes.
Q: What organs in the body can be donated to help other people?
A: The heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas and lungs are organs that can be donated. But also available for donation is skin, bone, corneas, heart valves and tissue.
Q: What medical circumstances have to happen for my organs to be donated?
A: Donation can happen after all life-saving efforts have been exhausted and it is determined that the patient’s death is imminent. The patient remains on a ventilator so that the organs can be viable for donation after death occurs. Brain death occurs when there is cessation of brain function, often caused by a traumatic brain injury.
Q: Why wouldn’t someone sign up to be an organ donor?
A: Signing up to be an organ donor is a generous and caring gesture, and one that can help as many as 50 people or more when organs, tissue and bone can be donated to people in need. The best thing people can do is be informed about donation and how it can help, and to make sure they are getting accurate information.
Q: If I become a donor because of certain medical conditions, can my family meet the people who received my organs?
A: The identity of the deceased donor, his or her family and the recipient is kept confidential. No pressure is placed on either party to meet or arrange contact. However, after a period of time, if both parties agree to meet, correspondence is coordinated through the transplant center and, in Arizona, through Donor Network of Arizona, to forward the letters to the donor families or recipients. In the event that both parties wish to meet each other, it is facilitated by Donor Network.
Q: How many people are waiting for a transplant in Arizona?
A: Approximately 2,100.
Q: How many in the U.S. are awaiting an organ transplant?
A: Approximately 111,000.
Q: How many are signed up to be a donor in Arizona?
A: Approximately 1.7 million.
ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION
Q: What is an organ transplant?
A: An organ transplant takes place when a failing organ, such as a kidney, liver, pancreas, heart or lung, is replaced with a healthy organ. The organ is removed from another person, either deceased or a living donor, and implanted into the person who needs a healthy one.
Q: What organs can be transplanted?
At Mayo Clinic, we perform kidney, liver, pancreas and heart transplants. Sometimes more than one organ can be donated at a time, such as a kidney and a heart, or, more commonly, a kidney and a pancreas.
A: Where do organs come from?
Organs can come from deceased donors whose family agree to participate in the gift of life to help another person, or from living donors of kidneys or (partial) livers.
KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION
Q: What diseases can lead to the need for a kidney transplant?
A: Most commonly, diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, infections and genetic conditions.
Q: What is the greatest advantage of receiving a kidney transplant?
A: Patients often report that the greatest advantage is in not having to be on dialysis, and they can return to a more normal life.
Q: If I am on dialysis, am I automatically a candidate for a kidney transplant?
A: Not necessarily. Some issues that may prevent you from being eligible are age and other medical issues such as heart disease, infection, current cancer, obesity or drug abuse. Depending on the severity of your kidney disease, you may be eligible for other treatment methods.
Q: When is a combined kidney/pancreas surgery done – for what reason?
A: Patients who have kidney failure because of insulin-dependent diabetes and who have been on dialysis are candidates for a combined transplant of a kidney and pancreas. With successful surgery, the new kidney cleans the blood successfully so that dialysis is not needed – and the patient’s diabetes is controlled.
Q: So many people are waiting for a kidney transplant. What other ways can we increase the pool of available transplants?
A: Of course it is advantageous to increase the number of people who register to be an organ donor, should those medical circumstances arise. In Arizona, register online at
www.azdonorregistry.org In addition to living donor transplantation, there is paired kidney exchange, which allows incompatible donors to help their loved ones receive a live donor kidney by matching one incompatible donor/recipient pair with another incompatible
pair.
LIVER TRANSPLANTATION
Q: Why would a person need a liver transplant?
A: In adults, the most common conditions leading to the need for a liver transplant include active hepatitis, cirrhosis (not always called by alcoholism), bile duct disorders and other genetic conditions.
Q: Who is eligible for a liver transplant?
A: After referral to a transplant center, the patient undergoes comprehensive evaluation before he or she is added to a waiting list. This list is prioritized so that the sickest people are closer to the top of the list.
Q: How are patients evaluated for a liver transplant?
A: Patients go through many tests, ranging from CT scans, ultrasound, MRIs, cardiac testing, biopsies and psychological testing. Test results are evaluated by a Selection Committee made up of a range of medical and other professionals.
Q: Where do livers for donation come from?
A: Donated livers come from both deceased and living donors.
LIVING DONATON OF KIDNEYS AND LIVERS
Q: What organs can be used for living donation?
A: Kidneys (because we have two) and part of a liver, generally up to 60 percent, can be donated to a person in need. Donors undergo rigorous screening to make sure they are in optimal health, and in the case of kidneys, that they can live a long life with one kidney. Livers have the remarkable ability to regenerate – for both the recipient and the donor.
Q: Why are living donor transplants done?
A: Living donor transplants of kidneys or livers are performed because otherwise the intended recipient would have to wait on a list for an undetermined amount of time, risking more deterioration to one’s heath. A living donation can be scheduled at optimal times for both the donor and the recipient.
Q: What are the risks for the living donor of a kidney?
A: Research has shown that there is little long-term risk in donating a kidney, provided there is careful screening through a thorough medical exam to determine that the donor is a good match for the intended recipient, and there are no possible consequences for the donor in having only one remaining kidney.
Q: What are risks to the donor of part of his or her liver?
A: Although living donor liver transplantation has been proven safe and effective for both the donor and recipient, it is not without risk. It is a major surgery for the donor, and that is why comprehensive evaluation takes place over a period of months to make sure the donor is in excellent health before undergoing surgery.
Q: What’s the advantage to the donor who gives up a kidney or part of a liver?
A: While there are no medical advantages, donors of kidneys or partial livers often gain significant social and psychological satisfaction in knowing they have participated in one of the most selfless acts a person can commit, making it possible for another person to receive a life-saving organ.
SURGICAL PROCEDURES
Q: How is a living donor kidney transplant performed?
A: In most cases, the donor’s surgery to remove a kidney is done by the laparoscopic method, where a few small incisions are made to insert instruments that contain a small cancer to guide the surgical team. Then a small incision is made to allow for removal of the kidney. The healthy kidney is then taken to a separate operating room and is implanted into the patient needing it. Except in unusual cases, the surgeon does not remove the patent’s own kidneys prior to transplant of the new kidney.
Q: How is a living donor liver transplant performed?
A: For a living donor liver transplant, three surgeries actually take place – removal of the donor liver, removal of the diseased liver from the potential recipient and implantation of the new, healthy liver. Teams of surgeons, nurses and allied health staff skilled in the process perform the detailed surgeries.
Q: What are the qualifications for living liver donors?
A: Potential living donors must be in good general health and have no evidence of serious disease such as high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease or diabetesThe living donor must first undergo a blood test to determine blood type compatibility with the recipient. If the donor and recipient have compatible blood types, the donor undergoes a medical history review and a complete physical examination
Q: What are the advantages of living donation over non-living donation?
A: Living donor transplants have many advantages. For example, some living donor transplants are done between family members who are genetically similar. A better genetic match lessens the risk of rejection. In addition, potential donors undergo a battery of tests to make sure they are healthy.
ORGAN TRANSPLANT FACTS
Source: Mayo Clinic
Statistics:
111,000 -- people on waiting list for an organ donation in U.S.
2,200 -- people waiting for an organ donation in Arizona
1.7 million registered organ donors in Arizona
People awaiting a kidney transplant in Arizona: 1,500
People awaiting a liver transplant in Arizona: 486
People awaiting
a kidney/pancreas transplant in Arizona: 79
The Power of Organ Donation:
“Mother, don’t mourn for me. I’m still here, though you don’t see.”
Mother of organ donor, age 22
“Organ donation: An ending, but also a beginning.”
“She wanted to save baby seals. Instead she saved 4 people through organ donation.”
Mother of organ donor, age 16
April is National Donate Life Month. To register:
www.azdonorregistry.orghttp://www.abc15.com/dpp/marketplace/marketplacewildcard9/mayo-clinic-forum-on-organ-transplants
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