Organ Harvesting and Transplants

Humans and animals need healthy organs to live. Due to medical conditions and accidents, some organs fail to function properly. For these reasons, the medical community has experimented and can now perform successful organ transplants, allowing patients to continue to live their lives. Many countries have medical programs where individuals can donate their organs and tissue (bones, tendons, skin, cornea, etc.) to assist those in need of transplants. These practices and medical miracles have become possible during the last decades. This article describes how, with organ harvesting, transplants, and now stem cell research, the human body may be repairable just as are the machines people invent. With developments in medical technology, humans will need to continue to make decisions as to which paths to follow. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)