Add Kidneys to the List of Things That Can Be Recycled
This article struck me as very intriguing since I think that
the discovery it discusses can prove to be an important breakthrough in medical
science. In addition to this, the article also applies directly to my family,
since my dad has a kidney condition and could use a transplant.
The article reveals how a transplanted kidney that was
failing in one man was removed while he was still alive and given to another
person in need. The man who had first received the kidney transplant only had
the new organ for a few days before he found out that a disease in his body had
damaged the kidney and rendered it useless. Although it would not work in this
man’s body, doctors thought that the damaged kidney could still be used in
someone else’s. With the first man’s permission, the doctors removed his
transplanted kidney and gave it to someone else in need. After a couple of
days, the kidney had begun working and the damage seemed to disappear.
While organs have been transplanted more than once for a
couple of decades, this is the first time that the initial recipient was alive
when the organ was removed. With tens of thousands of people currently in need
of a transplanted kidney, I think that it is absolutely necessary that more kidneys,
and organs in general, become “recycled”. This case proves that even if the
organ is failing in one patient, it does not mean that the organ is useless for
everyone.
It is noted in the article that reusing a transplanted
kidney is risky since scar tissue forms around the new organ, making removal of
it difficult. Also, it is rare that an organ that is recycled will actually
work in another person. Despite these drawbacks, I still think that this method
should be actively pursued.
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