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Organ Donation & Transplantation

Overview

Since the first successful organ transplant in 1954, the transplantation of organs and tissues has enabled thousands of individuals increased longevity by replacing diseased or damaged organs and tissues. The great need for organ transplants (with demand far exceeding available organs for the over 100,000 on the U.S. national transplant waiting list) has introduced issues surrounding the allocation of organs, and the meeting of this great need through issues of consent, dead donor determination, for-profit models of organ transplantation, organ trafficking & medical tourism, synthetic & artificial organs, xenotransplantation, the possibility of bioengineered and/or 3D printed organs, and even the potential for fetal organ farming.

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