Advances in Organ Transplant

Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. Organs and/or tissues that are transplanted within the same person's body are called autografts. Transplants that are recently performed between two subjects of the same species are called allografts. Allografts can either be from a living or cadaveric source. Organs that have been successfully transplanted include the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and thymus. Some organs, like the brain, cannot be transplanted. Tissues include bones, tendons (both referred to as musculoskeletal grafts), corneae, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins. Worldwide, the kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs, followed by the liver and then the heart. Corneae and musculoskeletal grafts are the most commonly transplanted tissues; these outnumber organ transplants by more than tenfold. In the present book, fifteen typical literatures about Organ Transplant published on international authoritative journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest progress, which contains reviews or original researches on transplantation, medical science, clinical trial, ect. We hope this book can demonstrate advances in Organ Transplant as well as give references to the researchers, students and other related people.