Transplantation
- Mark A. Hardy, MD;
- Elliot R. Goodman, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
Many advances in clinical and experimental transplantation have occurred in recent years. Significant progress has been made to solve the universal problems of donor organ shortages and the dependency of recipients on chronic immunosuppression. Pioneering efforts in small-bowel and islet cell transplantation are of particular interest because of their potential impact on patient care and the field of transplantation.
Donor shortages lengthen waiting lists for all organs worldwide. The waiting time for a cadaveric renal transplant may be over 500 days.1 The mortality rate for children with end-stage chronic liver disease who are awaiting transplantation is nearly 25%.2 There are several means currently used to shorten waiting lists, with others currently under experimental consideration. First of all, living unrelated donors may be used for kidney transplantation. It is accepted that living unrelated renal transplantation (LURTx) is ethically permissible if no suitable kidney transplant is available from a cadaveric
