Celebrating 100th Kidney Transplant in Chicago

Yesterday, Oct. 23, 2012, in Chicago, Northwestern Medicine transplant surgeons and physicians have reached a significant milestone with the completion of the 100th successful kidney paired donation transplant, a strategy which has enlarged the pool of kidneys available for donation for patients with a living donor who is not compatible.

Michael Abecassis, MD, chief of the division of organ transplantation, said they are proud of this accomplishment and the diligent focus to lead the way in finding innovative techniques to provide more patients the opportunity to get the transplants they need. Many times when family members want to donate, they are not matches for their loved ones. They can, however, donate their kidney to someone else who matches, and in return, their loved one receives the gift of life according to him.

A paired exchange is a possible solution for donor and recipient pairs who have certain incompatibilities including blood type and immunological differences. Paired exchange transplants are made possible when a kidney donor, who is not compatible with their intended recipient, is paired with another donor and recipient in the same situation.

Over the last four years, Northwestern's living donor kidney transplant program has grown to become one of the largest in the country, performing 636 living donor kidney transplants. This is more than any other hospital in the United States. In 2011, surgeons performed 154 living donor kidney transplants. Kidneys from living donors tend to last longer, function better and have fewer complications than organs from deceased donors. However, approximately one third of living donors are not a match for their intended recipient.

"In addition to kidney paired donation, Northwestern offers numerous techniques to help make living kidney donation available to donors and recipients who have mismatched blood types or immune systems," said Joseph Leventhal, MD, PhD, transplant surgeon and director of the living donor kidney program.

 I thought it was amazing for a single medical team to perform 100 kidney transplant surgeries. Whether all the 100 surgeries were successful or not, I think their effort and achievement brought a great development to the field of organ transplantation and our medical area.

Organ Donation

Currently, organ donation is the safest method for both donator and receiver for organ transplantation. Organ donation can occur with:

• a deceased donor, who can give kidneys, pancreas, liver, lungs, heart, intestinal organs

• a living donor, who can give a kidney, or a portion of the liver, lung, intestine, or pancreas

In order for a person to become an organ donor, blood and oxygen must flow through the organs until the time of recovery to ensure viability. This requires that a person die under circumstances that have resulted in an irreparable neurological injury, usually from massive trauma to the brain such as aneurysm, stroke or automobile accident. Only after all efforts to save the patient's life have been exhausted, tests are performed to confirm the absence of brain or brain stem activity, and brain death has been declared, is donation a possibility. The state donor registry is searched to determine if the patient has personally consented to donation. If the potential donor is not found on the registry, his or her legally authorized representative (usually a spouse, relative or close friend) is offered the opportunity to authorize the donation. Once the donation decision is established, the family is asked to provide a medical and social history. Donation professionals determine which organs can be transplanted and to which patients on the national transplant waiting list the organs are to be allocated.

Should the Sale of Human Organs Be Legal? - No

While some believe human organ trades should be legalized, others strongly hold the opposite view on the issue. They insist if  the sales of human organs is permitted, it will be immoral, bringing more negative aspects. They believe: 

     1. It could start dangerous trends of harvesting organs without people's consent
         When it comes to the human body, there should be many laws in place to help protect
          people's safety. If selling human organs were legal, there could be many companies that
          might seize on this as a money-making opportunity. And, to do so, they might infringe 
          on the rights, and even bodily safety, of people who have not chosen to give organs.

     2. The privatization of human organizations is, for lack of a better term, inhumane
         Selling human organs to the highest bidder is a practice which many think is carried out
         only in dark alleys. In reality, some people are bumped up on organ receiving lists 
         through charitable contributions to hospitals. Practices like these are immoral and 
         akin to actually selling an organ. The outright sale of an organ should never take place, 
         and everyone is entitled to an equal opportunity for their life to be saved.

     3. No one would want to donate their organs for free anymore.
         The sale of human organs should not be legalized. The current method of obtaining
         organs for transplant is the safest method for the recipient and the donor.
         While there is a great need for donors, a black market for human organs would
         benefit no one.

  4. This would lead to a situation where only the rich could obtain an organ transplant.

      Currently, except where organs are donated by a match or by family members, organs

      go to the person who is at the top of the list when organs become available. If organs 

      could be purchased, the most needy would not be able to get a transplant unless they

      had the cash to purchase the available organ. This would result in organs going to people 

      who have no chance of actually surviving, just because the person had money to buy an 

      organ. This is a terrible outcome. If the rich pay the biggest amount of money and buy

      an organ, the patient who would be best able to survive with the organ might die since

      they can't pay as much as the rich.