Hi,
My name is Oron and I wanted to ask for
your help regarding my friend's father.
My friend is 21 years old and I'm 18 years
old, and her dad is in the hospital for 4
months now, or so. I don't know exactly
what his problem is, but she told me he
had a heart attack and he is being treated
in the hospital. About a week ago, he was
having a transplant of a heart-lung, but
his body denied it. I don't know much
about transplants, but can you please help
me in some way which will help my friend's
father? I'll do anything I can to help her
dad, even donate him my organs for him to
feel better. Can I really donate my organs
to him or help him in some way or another?
By the way, he is, I think, over 50 years
old.
Really, Doctor, if I can help in any way
you suggest it will really make us all
feel better because we cry a lot, and want
him to heal from what he has.
You can’t donate your heart and lungs to
your friend’s father because YOU will
die without such vital organs. It seems
that there is nothing you can do except to
give moral support to your friend in the
moments when her father’s life is in
great danger.
Vital organs like the heart and lungs are
used only from a corpse, usually after
death caused by automobile accidents. Live
donors can donate only the one of a set of
dual organs (such as a kidney) if the
other organ is healthy. Vital organ
donors must also have an immunological
match between the donor and the recipient.
In other words, the immune system of the
recipient can possibly reject a donated
organ if there is not a complete
immunological match. A total 100%
immunological match exists monozygotic
twins, for example. In all other cases,
immunological matches are more or less
close, but never complete. The bigger the
immunological compatibility, the less
likely the organ rejection. Further, the
functionality of the donated organ in
cases of a close immunological match will
be more prolonged. Immunological rejection
of the donated organ can be slowed by
taking immuno-suppressive drugs.
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