The Living Organ Donor As Patient

"This is a book about living solid organ donors as patients in their own right. This book is premised on the supposition that the field of living donor organ transplantation is ethical, even if some specific applications are not. Living donor organ transplantation is controversial at its core because it exposes one patient (the living donor) to clinical risks for the clinical benefit of another (the candidate recipient). It is different than obstetrics which also involves 2 patients-a pregnant woman and her fetus-- because transplantation involves two physically individuated patients who, in most cases, individually consent to the medical interventions. And in many cases, the donor-recipient interdependence is optional because deceased donor organs may be available. So before one can begin, one must ask, even if only rhetorically: Is living donation ethical? The question is not new: one of the first to ask about the ethics of living donor transplantation was Joseph Murray, the surgeon credited with performing the first successful living donor kidney transplant which paved the way for the broad adoption of kidney and other solid organ transplantation around the world"--

"This is a book about living solid organ donors as patients in their own right. This book is premised on the supposition that the field of living donor organ transplantation is ethical, even if some specific applications are not. Living donor organ transplantation is controversial at its core because it exposes one patient (the living donor) to clinical risks for the clinical benefit of another (the candidate recipient). It is different than obstetrics which also involves 2 patients-a pregnant woman and her fetus-- because transplantation involves two physically individuated patients who, in most cases, individually consent to the medical interventions. And in many cases, the donor-recipient interdependence is optional because deceased donor organs may be available. So before one can begin, one must ask, even if only rhetorically: Is living donation ethical? The question is not new: one of the first to ask about the ethics of living donor transplantation was Joseph Murray, the surgeon credited with performing the first successful living donor kidney transplant which paved the way for the broad adoption of kidney and other solid organ transplantation around the world"--

Despite starting slowly with some academic jargon about altruism and people's motivations to donate organs, the book quickly takes a right turn and gets interesting. The authors sprinkle little informative tidbits along the way-Asian-Americans constituted only 3.4% of U.S. donors-and bring their points alive through little vignettes when examining the origins of altruism. The authors would make brilliant sales reps: they put forth a convincing argument about what a great humanitarian effort living donation is then patiently explain the evaluation process to reassure readers of the minimal costs. The few downsides are reviewed and discussed-for example, how to deal with family members who do not support the decision to donate or the devastation donors might experience when a recipient dies. Resources, bibliography, and index occupy a full 36 pages, yet for the most part this book escapes the drudgery of a research-laden study and instead reads as a fascinating story about a very human issue. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This book provides a complete guide to the evaluation, care, and follow-up of living kidney donors. Living donor kidney transplantation is established as the best treatment option for kidney failure. However, despite the tremendous benefits of living donation to recipients and society, the outcomes and optimal care of donors themselves have received relatively less attention. Fortunately, things are changing – including recent landmark developments in living donor risk assessment, policy and guidance. This volume offers authoritative, evidence-based guidance on the full range of clinical scenarios encountered in the evaluation and care of living kidney donors. The approach to key elements of risk assessment, ethical considerations and informed consent is accompanied by recommendations for patient-centered care before, during, and after donation. Advocacy initiatives and policies to remove disincentives to donation and advance a defensible system of practice are also discussed. General and transplant nephrologists, as well as related allied health professionals, can look to this book as a comprehensive resource addressing contemporary clinical topics in the practice of living kidney donation.

Rates of organ donation lag far behind the increasing need. At the start of 2006, more than 90,000 people were waiting to receive a solid organ (kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, heart, or intestine). Organ Donation examines a wide range of proposals to increase organ donation, including policies that presume consent for donation as well as the use of financial incentives such as direct payments, coverage of funeral expenses, and charitable contributions. This book urges federal agencies, nonprofit groups, and others to boost opportunities for people to record their decisions to donate, strengthen efforts to educate the public about the benefits of organ donation, and continue to improve donation systems. Organ Donation also supports initiatives to increase donations from people whose deaths are the result of irreversible cardiac failure. This book emphasizes that all members of society have a stake in an adequate supply of organs for patients in need, because each individual is a potential recipient as well as a potential donor.

Edited by leaders at one of the acclaimed transplant institutions in the United States, this reference covers all aspects of living donor solid organ and cellular transplantation in current clinical practice, including the kidney, liver, pancreas, lung, small bowel, islet, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Detailed, engaging, and organ-

Living Organ Donor Transplantation, Second Edition puts the entire discipline in perspective while guiding readers step-by-step through the most common organ transplant surgeries. Organized into four cohesive parts and featuring numerous surgical illustrations, this sourcebook delivers an incisive look at every key consideration for general surgeons who perform transplantations, from patient selection to recipient workup and outcomes, and emphasizes the most humanitarian approaches. Sections provide content on living donor uterus transplantation, new operative techniques, including the use of robotic and minimally invasive transplant procedures, new immunosuppressive regimens, new protocols of tolerance induction including stem cell therapy and transplantation, and much more.Chapter authors are international leaders in their fields and represent institutions from four continents (Americas: USA, Argentina, Brazil, Canada; Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, UK; Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan; Australia). Provides an A-Z, operation-oriented guide to the field of living donor organ transplantation Examines a wide spectrum of solid organ transplantation procedures (liver, pancreas, kidney, intestine), with accompanying chapters on the history of the procedure, the donor, the recipient, and cost analysis Covers techniques that explain adequate pretransplant workup and posttransplant care Covers cultural differences, ethical and legal issues, social issues, current financial incentives, and the illegal organ trade