Transplant Information
Organ Transplantation
Government data shows that 17 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. And, more than 118,000 people are currently waiting for organ transplantation. There is a tremendous shortage of donated organs which may offer the gift of sight, freedom from machines, or even life itself for people whose organs are failing because of disease or injury.
There are two types of organ transplantations:
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Cadaver Transplantation - An organ or tissue transplanted from a deceased and usually unrelated donor
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Living Transplantation – An organ transplanted from a living donor. The main living organ transplantations are kidney and liver. Each of us has 2 kidneys. For a healthy person, we can donate one of our two kidneys. While we only have one liver, a healthy person can donate a part of the liver because the liver has the amazing power to regenerate in both the donor and the recipient.
Living Liver Transplantation
There are about 6,000 cadaver liver transplants and 250 living related transplant per year in the U.S.
A living-donor liver transplant is a surgical procedure in which a portion of the liver from a healthy living person (donor) is removed and placed into someone whose liver is no longer working properly (recipient).
The human livers have the awesome (miraculous) power to regenerate. The donor's remaining liver regrows and returns to its normal size, volume and capacity within a couple of months after the surgery. At the same time, the transplanted liver portion grows and restores normal liver function in the recipient.
The number of people waiting for a liver transplant greatly exceeds the number of available deceased-donor livers. Living-donor liver transplant offers an alternative to waiting for a deceased-donor liver.
Most living liver donors are close family members or friends of the liver transplant candidates. However any healthy person, with no relationship to the recipient, can be a donor. The main criteria to be a living donor:
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Be in overall good health
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Be between 16-60 years of age
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Be blood type compatible
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Have a near normal body weight
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Have a suitable liver
As it is said in Schindler's List: "He who saves one life... It's as if you save the entire humankind."
Every healthy person has the power to save lives and improve the quality of life of those in need of an organ transplant.
Many people are not aware of the awesome regenerative power of the liver and that living liver transplantation that can save lives. That is the primary mission of My New Liver: to promote this awareness, in addition to offering help to potential living liver donors and child liver recipients. Please help us to share and promote this awareness. Thank you.
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To be a regular organ donor, people can register centralized donor registry at DonateLife.net.
Unlike regular organ donation, there is not a centralized living donor registry. Interested donor would need to register at specific living transplant hospitals. To find and learn more about the living transplantation centers near you in the United States, click here.
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