organ donation and transplants
Imagine the thought of a close relative dying because they could not get a new organ transplanted into their body in time. The proposal to substitute diseased parts of the body with alternate parts is quite old. It is only in most recent times that this has become a reality. Finding an organ to transplant is one of the most difficult problems that surgeons have to face. However, what causes the big problem and has confused many doctors for years, is when exactly the point of death occurred. The main drawback with organ transplantation is a shortage of these much needed human organs not being able to be donated at a rate to keep up with the demands for transplantations. Many new technologies for means of human organs have been researched for involvement in the transplantation processes, such as, family members donating an organ to become a living organ donor, and animal organs that are transplanted into human bodies with new advancements in xenotransplantation.In all areas of scientific improvement and treatment, there are technological, moral, cultural, and religious risk factors and uncertainties that have to be taken into consideration ("Summary Statements of Various Religious Groups 1).
The second type of new technology used for transplanting organs into human bodies is known as Xenotransplantation. This is the use of live non-human animal cells, tissues, and organs, typically pigs, in human patients. These cells can be implanted or enclosed in a device that is used outside the body (1). Despite the legality, fears and the moral issues, "animal parts and organs play a vital role in current medicine," stated Shawn Falchetti and his associates in their study of "Human Body Parts: A Study in Ethics and Feasibility" (1). The ever-growing need for organs is very great worldwide ("Transplant - Organ Allocation" 1). A person in need of an organ is added to the list every sixteen minutes while eleven out of the 42,000 people die while remaining on the waiting list (Colburn 1). "About 2,300 people died last year while on the waiting list for a kidney, and more than 2,500 died while waiting for other organs" that are not available to them (1). The concept of xenotransplantation is not new and the research has gone on for many years, but only in recent times have medical advances enabled transplants of this kind to take place without the danger of infecting humans with animal diseases. A problem that many scientists have to face when performing a xenotransplant, or any other transplant for that matter, is the fear of rejection of the organ. Due to the latest and up to the minute inventions of numerous new anti-rejection drugs, it has allowed the expansion of organ transplants, and giving individuals an area of new hope. Soon, the need for organs will be much greater. Pigs have become the animal of choice in xenotransplant research for a variety of reasons. They are plentiful, and they breed easily. They are physiologically similar enough to a human that is why "pig valves are currently used in heart surgery, with plans for genetically engineered transgenic pigs to provide hearts, lungs, and kidneys for human patients" (Falchetti 1). Plus, pigs and people
Some common words found in the essay are:
Organ Allocation, Organ Transplantation, Transplants Imagine, Various Religious, Committee Bioethics, Ethics Feasibility, organ transplantation, Shawn Falchetti, human organs, living organ, human bodies, organ donor, animal organs, living organ donor, organ donation, processes family donating, family donating organ, researched involvement, processes family, involvement transplantation, transplantation processes family, involvement transplantation processes,
Approximate Word count = 1340
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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