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The gift of life
Touch someone's life...
Talk to your family
about tissue donation
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Organ and tissue transplantation has begun a medical revolution. Organs save lives and tissues improve the quality of life for millions of people. Organ transplants such as hearts, livers and kidneys usually attract media attention because of the drama associated with life-saving operations. However, tissue transplants make skin grafts possible for thousands of critically burned patients. Donated corneas avert or correct blindness. Donor heart valves help repair cardiac defects or damage. Bone, cartilage and tendon grafts help restore function, in people who would otherwise be incapacitated or disabled.
Donation THE PROBLEM
All of these life saving and life enchancing procedures are possible because generous people are willing to donote their organs and tissues. Despite the fact that transplantation is an accepted medical practice, many people who need transplants cannot get them because there simply is not enough to go around.
To increase the number of transplants is the responsibility of us all. If enough people express their willingness to become donors, the shortage may be alleviated and thousands of people can return to healthy and productive lives.
Donation THE SOLUTION
People need to become informed about organ and tissue donation and its benefits to society as a whole. The public is encouraged to discuss their thoughts and concerns about donation with members of their family. Physicians and medical caregivers are encouraged to become familiar with the various donation possibilities and to pay close attention to the wishes of the family. Although not an easy task, offering the option to donation to a bereaved family often brings hope and encouragement in a hopeless situation.
Donation WHAT CAN BE DONATED
Life Enhancing Bone Grafts
Bone grafts are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, such as maxillofacial injury, spinal surgery, treatment of trauma, orthopaedic surgery and joint reconstruction.
Bone is generally classified into two types:
Cortical bone, also known as compact bone and
Trabecular bone, also known as cancellous or spongy bone.
These two types are classified on the basis of porosity and the unit microstructure. Cortical bone is much denser with a porosity ranging between 5% and 10%. Cortical bone is found primary in the shafts of long bones and forms the outer shell around cancellous bone at the end of joints and the vertebrae.
Bone allografts made from cortical bone are mainly used for weight bearing applications. While cancellous bone grafts are commonly used in back surgeries and as “bone fillers.”
Bone Structure
Soft Tissues such as Achilles and patella tendons are most commonly used to repair athletic injuries, such as knee and Achilles injuries.
Donation ABOUT TISSUE DONATION
What is a Bone Allograft?
Bone allograft is a term used to describe a bone graft donated by one person for transplantation into another.
Are Bone Transplants common?
Bone tissue transplants are the second most common transplant performed on patients, second only to blood transfusions. Many thousands of patients receive allograft tissue every year, most of which comes from non-living donors whose loved ones consented to donation.
Each year, thousands of South Africans receive life enhancing bone transplants, to heal skeletal afflictions resulting from trauma, disease and age. Skeletal afflictions such as fractures, joint injuries, bone loss and spinal problems can be extremely debilitating, causing pain, morbidity and depression, the inability to walk or operate vehicles, loss of working time and income.
Bone grafts can restore a cancer patient’s lost bone, heart valves can replace a failing heart valve, ligaments and tendons can repair injured knees and ankles.
FACT ~ Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, gender, race. However, there are several factors that render donated allograft tissue unsuitable for transplantation. Any one of the following would disqualify a potential donor:
Death of unknown origin; disease of the central nervous system; most forms of cancer; septicaemia; hepatitis; and HIV.
FACT ~ There is no cost to the donor family for organ or tissue donation.
FACT ~ An open casket funeral is possible for organ, eye and tissue donors. Through the entire donation process the body is treated with care, respect and dignity.
FACT ~ Funeral arrangements are not delayed, as the Centre endeavours to retrieve tissue without compromising the funeral arrangements.
FACT ~ All donors are screened thoroughly by evaluating their medical and social history, blood tests, culture tests, and by physical examination. This process is carried out to ensure that the donor is suitable for donation.
FACT ~ Specific serology tests are performed by contract pathology laboratories for Syphilis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and HTLV 1 & 2. All the donor information is evaluated by trained technicians and the Centre's Medical Director.
Discuss tissue donation with the rest of your family and make sure they know of your intention to donate
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