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Showing posts from December, 2022

Liver Transplantation – All you wanted to know.

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  What does the liver do? The liver, considered to be the largest internal organ in your body, performs a lot of vital functions. The liver is essential for survival and there is no way to compensate for absence of liver. Vital liver functions include: Production of bile, a mixture of chemicals, which help in digestion. Helping in breaking down food to turn it into energy. Liver also acts as a filter and removes harmful substances from your blood. Liver makes chemicals that help in fighting infection. Liver makes chemicals that are important for blood clotting. Liver stores iron, vitamins and other essential substances. What Is Liver Transplantation? Liver transplantation  is complex surgery performed to remove a diseased liver to replace it with a healthy one. Such surgeries have been done for over 38 years. Many people who have undergone liver transplants go on to lead perfectly normal lives. What is the History of Liver Transplantation? Dr. Thomas Starzl was the first to ha...

Kidney Transplant – What to Expect, Procedure and Types.

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Kidney transplant is a surgical procedure in which a healthy kidney from a (live or deceased) donor is placed into the body of an individual whose kidneys does not function properly. What are Kidneys? Kidneys are two bean-shaped (each about the size of a fist) organs placed on either side of the spine just underneath the rib cage. Their main function is to filter and remove excess and waste fluid from the blood. When they lose their filtering ability, high levels of fluid and waste accumulate in the body, leading to kidney failure (end-stage renal disease or end-stage kidney disease). Most common causes of end stage kidney disease include: Diabetes Chronic, uncontroll ed  high blood pressure Chronic glomerulonephritis, an inflammatio n and eventual scarring of the tiny filters within the kidneys Polycystic kidney disease What are the Types of Kidney Transplants available? Deceased-donor kidney transplant  is a surgical procedure to give kidney failure patient a healt...