Surgical Transplant

Most organs and tissues used for transplantation come from nationwide networks designed to provide quick access to organs when they become available. For example, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) provides access to organs and tissues throughout North America. The more than 70 organ procurement agencies in the United States are crucial to the success of transplants since they facilitate access to and transportation of organs and tissues that remain viable for transplanting for only a limited amount of time after they are removed from the donor's body.

The procurement begins when a hospital notifies a local organ bank that a seriously ill or dying patient (who is willing to donate his or her organ or whose family has given permission) is under their care. Organ bank staff will go to the hospital to assess the patient to determine whether their organs are healthy enough for transplantation. For example, most donor organs are harvested from people under age 65, and organs from someone who was an intravenous drug user may also be precluded from use since the organs may be infected with the AIDS disease or hepatitis. Once the patient is pronounced dead, a team of surgeons begin to remove the eyes, heart, liver, and kidneys. The next step is to determine who receives the organ. This is usually done on a geographic basis with those patients in the same general geographic area as the donor receiving first consideration to receive the organ.

However, since these organs are a precious commodity, a nationwide computer list of potential transplant recipients is also maintained. The National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network was established by the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984. Potential donor recipients are prioritized to receive organs according to the length of time they have been on the UNOS list and on the compatibility to the donor organ in terms of blood types, body sizes, and genetic similarities.