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Unfortunately, there are currently not enough organs donated by deceased donors to meet all of the needs of patients awaiting organ transplants. So transplant teams throughout the country have developed new techniques and procedures to save more patients' lives through living donor transplants. Living donations are handled by each individual transplant center where the recipient is waiting.
It is now possible for a living person to donate:
a kidney
a portion of their liver
a portion of a lung
in some rare instances, a portion of their pancreas.
There are many different ethical issues relating to living donors. Competing interests arise in this type of donation including:
The interests of the donor
The needs of the intended recipient and society for the organ transplant
The interests of the next of kin of both the donor and the recipient
The interests of the transplant center caring for the awaiting recipient.
Living Donor Kidney Exchange Programs:
Family members or friends often offer to donate a kidney to patients. However, up to 35 percent of the time they are excluded because of biological incompatibility. Under various kidney exchange programs, individuals who are unable to donate a kidney to their intended recipients due to incompatibility are exchanged to form compatible pairs. The transplants are performed simultaneously.Kidney Exchange Programs are performed at certain New York transplant centers. They should be contacted directly for further information.
Bone Marrow Donation:
For information about bone marrow donation, contact the New York Blood Center — call 1-800-692-5663. |
