Transplant Operation

The Organ Transplant Operation

Because time is so critical when your organ does become available, you will be rushing to the hospital, and then rushing to get prepared for surgery.

Although the processes of each transplant center may differ, typically you may experience the following:

• When you arrive, you proceed immediately to the Admitting Office. As a transplant patient, they will be expecting you and will quickly take care of all the arrangements to get you admitted and on you way to surgery.
• After you are finished with the admitting process, you will be seen by a physician who will obtain your surgical consent form and run the necessary preoperative tests. After this, you will be in your own hospital room where family and friends may wait with you until it's time to go to the Operating Room (OR).
• When you reach the OR, there will already be a bustle of activity. The nurses and surgeons, under the direction of your transplant surgeon, will prepare you for surgery. In preparation for your surgery and to reduce the possibility of infection, the area surrounding where the surgical incision is made will be shaved and thoroughly washed with a special antiseptic cleaning solution. The anesthesiologist will attach heart and blood pressure monitors and begin to administer the anesthesia. At this point you lose consciousness and the operation begins.
• You will be laying on your back on the operating table; your arms will be placed at your sides, padded and tucked in place after cleansing with the antiseptic solution. While you have been preparing for surgery, another group of surgeons has traveled, usually by jet aircraft, to the donor hospital where they remove the donor's organ, examine its health, and carefully pack it in a special cold fluid for transportation back to you in the OR. There is continuous communication between the procurement team and your transplant surgeon's team to coordinate your operation with the timing of your new organ's arrival.
• When the timing is right, your surgeon will make the necessary incisions and remove your diseased organ. Your new organ is carefully fitted and sewn into your system.
• After surgery, you will regain consciousness in the recovery room. There will be a team of professionals around you to monitor your recovery process. While you are in the recovery room, several tests may be performed to follow your progress.
• Your new organ will typically be supported with intravenous medications for a period of time until it recovers from the "shock" of the transplant but you will rapidly feel the difference a new healthy organ makes. Because the immune system gets activated immediately when an organ is transplanted, you will begin taking medications to prevent rejection even in the hours before your transplant and immediately afterwards.

Click Next to learn about what it's like being "in the transplant club" after having received your organ transplant.

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