X-Message-Number: 6999
Subject: Re: Positive media reaction to Cryonics
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 96 10:58:41 GMT
From:  (Michelle Olga Visser)

Gary Walsh wrote: 

< My guess is that the article was incorrect since it went on to say that
< this work would lead to frozen organ banks for transplant (whereas I
< thought the problem was lack of available human organs rather than the
< inability to store them).

There has in fact never been a lack of donor organs.
In certain countries (Portugal for instance) everyone who dies is an organ 
donor by law, unless the "donor" has specifically requested the contrary 
in writing.

Even in countries where this is not the case, most potential donor organs
are under utilized (if at all) because of the time constraint (couple of 
hours) in matching the available organ to a suitable recipient, provided 
both donee and recipient live within a 200 KM radius, the transplant teams
are available at that time, theater time is available, etc.etc.

It is this time and geographical constraint which leads to the misleading
notion that there are not enough donors to match recipients.

The truth is there are far more potential donors than potential recipients.

By removing the time constraint on donee organ viability, organ banks will
soon become fully "stocked", even with a large and continuous drain on 
these stocks as current potential recipients are accommodated.
Once this backlog is cleared, the harvesting of organs can be restricted 
to maintain an "adequate and safe supply" only.

The most important significance of such organ banks, apart from being able
to turn potential recipients into recipients, is the improved tissue
matching that can be achieved, as well as time available for the recipient 
to be prepared for the foreign tissue/organ (immunoreactive preparation).

Lastly, but not least importantly, the transplant of deceased (cancerous)
tissue/organs can be minimized, if not totally avoided.    
 
Best wishes,

Olga
----
Michelle Olga Visser
Head of Research, Department of Thoracic Surgery
Faculty of Medicine, University of Pretoria
P.O.Box 667, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa
Phone : +27 12 3541677 (W)   +27 12 3310701 (H)
E-mail: 


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