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. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transported from a donior site to another location. Organs and/or tisses that are transplanted within the same person's body are called autograth. Transplants that are recently performed between two subjects of the same species are called allograft. Allografts can either be from a living or cadaveric source.
Organs that have been successfully transplanted include the heart, kidnes, liver, lungs, pancrease, intestine, thymus and uterus. Tissues include bones, tendons (both referred to as musculoskeletal grafts), cornese, 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.
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