Organ Transplantation

Summary

You may need an organ transplant if one of your organs has failed. This can happen because of illness or injury. When you have an organ transplant, doctors remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. The organ may come from a living donor or a donor who has died.

The organs that can be transplanted include:

• Heart
• Intestine
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lung
• Pancreas

You often have to wait a long time for an organ transplant. Doctors must match donors to recipients to reduce the risk of transplant rejection. Rejection happens when your immune system attacks the new organ. If you have a transplant, you must take drugs the rest of your life to help keep your body from rejecting the new organ.

Living With

• After the Transplant United Network for Organ Sharing
• Diet and Exercise United Network for Organ Sharing
• Post-transplant Medications United Network for Organ Sharing
• Preventing Rejection United Network for Organ Sharing

Specifics

• Before the Transplant United Network for Organ Sharing

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Organ Transplantation National Institutes of Health

Encyclopedia

• Histocompatibility antigen test Medical Encyclopedia
• HLA-B27 antigen Medical Encyclopedia

Related Issues

• How Organs Are Matched United Network for Organ Sharing
• Organ Transplant Patients and Fungal Infections Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Xenotransplantation Food and Drug Administration

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Health Resources and Services Administration

Older Adults

• Organ Donation — You’re Never Too Old to Make a Difference National Institute on Aging

Statistics and Research

• Organ Donation and Transplantation Statistics National Kidney Foundation
• The SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients
• U.S. Transplantation Data United Network for Organ Sharing

Reference Desk

• Organ Facts and Surgeries United Network for Organ Sharing

Patient Handouts

• Organ or Stem Cell Transplant and Your Mouth National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
• Transplant rejection Medical Encyclopedia
• Transplant services Medical Encyclopedia

Start Here

• Organ Transplantation: Frequently Asked Questions United Network for Organ Sharing
• Partnering with Your Transplant Team: The Patient’s Guide to Transplantation United Network for Organ Sharing
• Talking about Transplantation: What Every Patient Needs to Know United Network for Organ Sharing
• The Organ Transplant Process Health Resources and Services Administration

Children

• Organ Transplants: What Every Kid Needs to Know United Network for Organ Sharing

Journal Articles

• Organ Transplantation