Organ Transplants: A Brief History

 by Dinura Ranmandala

Kidney ready for transplant (Wiki Commons)

The first transplant occurred in Boston, USA in 1954 and this was performed by Dr Joseph Murray and Dr David Hume and it was a kidney transplant. This was the first time the participant survived the procedure and endured life again after having a transplant. They were able to successfully do this as they overcame the technical issues they were facing such as the immune system response, the correct positioning of the kidney and the connection between the two blood vessels(vascular anastomosis). 

With this information in hand, doctors were able to successfully do transplants for other vital organs in the body, the lungs came in 1963, pancreas in 1966 and the heart in 1967. People who previously have been diagnosed with faulty organs now have another shot of life and they won’t have the daunting thought in their head that they would either die from the surgery or organ failure or live the rest of their life suffering never knowing when their end would come.

Last year the NHS provided over 4000 vital transplants to people that needed them but 350 people died waiting for them in the year of 2019, a number much higher now due to the problems that have arisen from the COVID pandemic. People in the waiting list can get organ transplants via private hospitals but the costs are quite hefty, organ transplants can go up to £400,000.

This shows that this procedure is still relatively new and comes with many risks and benefits. People can also get transplants with animal organs if necessary but further research is necessary to ensure that this is the right path. Organ transplants are something needed by many but the vast amount of people who need it and the limited amount of procedures given will result in many not getting the treatment they need, falling victim to a “lottery” scheme.