Organ Transplant and Bioethics

Organ transplant is the things that as the last of one's life voluntary deed one transplant to the person who is on the verge of death because of unfunction of the specific internal organs and whose goal is to live a life or to suspend the QOL(Quality Of Life) for that person by a part of one's body being provided after one is dead.

rgan transplants are currently being done throughout the world using heart, liver, kidney, lungs, intestines, etc. Transplantation also uses other body parts, such as heart valves, skin, bone, corneas, and bone marrow.

Organ transplantation differs from conventional medicine(without delivering) in that it requires a third person, the donor, as well as a patient and doctor. And it needs a transplant coodinator who work amond three persons and arrange something. Transplant donors, in the United States, can be divided into two types; cadaveric and living persons. But in Japan transplant donors can be divided into three types; persons under brain death circumstances, living persons and already dead persons. Kidney transplants can be performed using cadaveric kidneys and kidneys from living donors. Heart and whole liver transplants must come from cadaver donors who are declared brain dead. Partial liver transplants can be accomplished using living donors.

The first heart transplant was performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa December 1967. And the first "Living body liver transplant" was performed in Brazil 1988, and then, the second case was performed in Japan(Shimane Medical College).

In the United States, where organ transplant operations are regarded as ordinary medicine, 19,000 procedures are performed each year. Despite this large number of transplant procedures, there are over 55,000 patients on the waiting list. The number of patients needing an organ is steadily increasing. Unfortunately for them, organ donation has remained static. Sadly, at least ten patients a day die on the waiting list. Under such circumstances, some kind of trial was being done. For example, liver of pig was used temporary, futher more, using heart of pig is trying.

Today, considering such the shotage of organs, it is generating the idea that range of donor should magnify.