Deceased Donor Transplant, also known as Cadaveric Donor Transplant, A Life-Saving Gift is a critical and compassionate medical procedure that involves transplanting an organ or tissue from a deceased individual to a living patient in urgent need. These transplants offer a second chance at life for those suffering from end-stage organ failure and who may not have a suitable living donor available.
A Deceased Donor Transplant occurs when an organ comes from a person who has died. The organ is transplanted into a living patient. Organs are taken from individuals declared brain dead or after cardiac death, as long as they remain viable.
What is a Deceased Donor Transplant?
A Deceased Donor Transplant takes place when organs are retrieved from a person who has recently passed away — either due to brain death or cardiac death — and are surgically transplanted into a living patient whose organ(s) are failing.
These individuals are declared legally dead based on neurological criteria (irreversible loss of all brain activity), but their organs are still functioning with the help of ventilatory support, making them suitable for organ retrieval.
In these cases, organs are retrieved after the heart has stopped beating. This method is more challenging but can still yield viable organs if managed within strict time limits.
Prof (Dr) D Mukherjee is an alumnus of the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune where he did his MBBS & MD (Medicine). Subsequently he went on to do his DM (Nephrology) from PGIMER Chandigarh, which is the foremost training institution for nephrology in India.