The need for donated organs is as great as ever. Patients needing transplants are ranked according to a number of criteria including the seriousness of their illness. Patients with less severe problems have to wait longer because of a shortage of donated organs. A wait of more than six months is not uncommon for some patients. Although organ transplants such as kidneys, hearts, lungs and livers receive the most publicity, transplant specialists say tissue transplants also save and improve lives.
Doctors also use bone, cartilage, skin and corneas in transplants.
Transplanted corneas can save the sight of people with corneal diseases. Skin can save the lives of burn victims, and bone can help people with some kinds of bone cancers retain their limbs. Tissue donors, unlike organ donors, don't have to have their hearts kept beating on life support. Tissues can be procured after death, so even if a person dies away from the hospital, their tissues still can be used. It doesn't take much effort to be prepared to help.