Solid organ transplantation (SOT) is a technique used to replace irreversibly damaged organs, such as the kidneys, liver, pancreas, heart, and lungs.(1)
This is the most common SOT. It is used to treat long-term kidney failure. It involves replacing a patient’s kidney with a healthy one obtained from a living or deceased donor.
This is used to treat some cases of cirrhosis (a condition in which the liver is scarred and permanently damaged) and end-stage liver disease (ESLD). It involves replacing the diseased or damaged liver with a healthy donor’s liver.
This is a treatment option for patients with insulin-treated diabetes, with major complications from their diabetes. It is a major operation in which a donor’s healthy pancreas is used to replace a patient’s damaged pancreas.
This is a treatment option for patients who may have been born with a heart defect or developed chronic heart disease that cannot be treated by other medical interventions or devices. It is also a treatment option for some patients with advanced heart failure. The heart from a healthy donor who has recently passed is used to replace a patient’s damaged or failing heart.
A single or pair of lungs could be transferred from a donor to a patient.
This is a treatment option for some patients with end-stage respiratory failure who have been unresponsive to other treatments. It is not suitable for all patients and does not provide a cure but could offer a longer and better quality of life.
Organ transplantation has greatly improved the survival rate and management of pathological conditions resistant to therapeutic interventions in children with terminal organ failure.(3,4)
Kidney transplants increase patient survival compared to dialysis, and organ transplants are essential to treat patients with irreversible liver, heart and lung diseases.(4) However, organ transplantation does not mean the end of treatment.