The most commonly transplanted organ in Australia is the kidney, with a significantly higher number of kidney transplants performed annually compared to liver, lung, heart, or pancreas transplants, reflecting its high demand, with many on dialysis waiting for a kidney. Kidneys are also the only organ commonly transplanted from living donors in Australia, further increasing their volume.
The kidney is the most commonly transplanted organ.
With only a small number of potential donors, increasing consent is critical to increasing our donation rate. There are around 1,800 Australians on the waitlist for a transplant and an additional 14,000 people on dialysis – many of whom could benefit from a kidney transplant.
Lungs are the most difficult organ to transplant because they are highly susceptible to infections in the late stages of the donor's life. They can sustain damage during the process of recovering them from the donor or collapse after surgeons begin to ventilate them after transplant.
Chronic rejection has widely varied effects on different organs. At 5 years post-transplant, 80% of lung transplants, 60% of heart transplants and 50% of kidney transplants are affected, while liver transplants are only affected 10% of the time.
Kidneys are very successfully transplanted between two people with no matching antigens. A person can make antibodies against another person's HLA antigens. Antibodies can result from blood transfusions, pregnancy, infections or even a viral illness.
The organ with the longest average wait time is kidney and both centers have nearly halved the wait time in months since 2019. Kidney transplant candidates waitlisted by the University of Utah could expect to wait 20 months in 2019 and now wait 11.
Some organs, like the brain, cannot be transplanted. Tissues include bones, tendons (both referred to as musculoskeletal grafts), cornea, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins. Worldwide, the kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs, followed by the liver and then the heart.
Multiorgan transplants, especially triple transplants, remain rare. U.S. medical centers, including all three Mayo Clinic campuses — Arizona, Florida and Minnesota — have performed 62 heart, liver and kidney transplants since 1989, says Bashar A.
Cornea transplant in humans is almost never rejected.
The brain is the organ that cannot be donated for transplantation in humans. While multiple solid organs including kidneys, liver, lungs, and heart can be successfully transplanted from deceased donors, the brain itself is never procured or transplanted 1.
The man who saved 2.4 million babies with his blood is James Harrison, an Australian known as the "Man with the Golden Arm," who donated plasma for over 60 years, providing a rare antibody (Anti-D) that prevents RhD-related miscarriage in mothers, saving millions of unborn children. Harrison's rare blood, a result of his own childhood transfusions, contained Anti-D, crucial for making Anti-D immunoglobulin (Anti-D) medication, which acts like an "invisibility cloak" for babies in the womb, preventing their mothers' immune systems from attacking them. He retired in 2018 at age 81, having made over 1,100 donations, leaving a legacy of countless families, including his own grandchildren, who exist because of his selfless giving.
Blood donation age limits vary by country, but generally, you must be at least 17 or 18 years old, with first-time donors often having a maximum age (like 75 in Australia, or 65 in the UK) while regular donors can continue past that age if they remain healthy. Key requirements include being in good health, meeting weight criteria (around 50kg/110lbs), and having no recent illnesses or certain risky behaviors, with specific rules for different donation types like plasma.
If the Heart Doesn't Stop Right Away
If the patient does not die within the medical time frame (usually 90 minutes), organ donation cannot take place because the organs are no longer be viable for transplant.
Unless your medical team tells you otherwise, you can still drink alcohol after transplant if your recovery is going well. While many of us find drinking an important part of our social lives, try to be sensible and don't overdo it.
Surgeons typically don't remove the recipient's native kidneys—unless they're greatly enlarged or causing severe problems, such as high blood pressure or infection. “The nonfunctioning kidneys just get smaller over time,” notes Dr. Gelb.
Bladder. In 1999, the bladder was the first regenerated organ to be given to seven patients; as of 2014, these regenerated bladders are still functioning inside the beneficiaries.
Francia Raisa's gift saved her life. Learn more about kidney transplants. Selena Gomez took to Instagram this morning to reveal that she received the ultimate gift of life from her best friend, Francia Raisa.
The list of organs that can be transplanted from a living person to another is smaller. Living donors can donate one of their kidneys, or a portion of their lung, liver, pancreas or intestine. Living kidney donation is the most common living donation and helps save thousands of lives each year.
The “Dead Donor Rule” (DDR) lies at the heart of current organ procurement policy. [10] It is not a legal statute; rather, it reflects the widely held belief that it is wrong to kill one person to save the life of another. On those grounds, an organ donor must already be dead before vital organs are removed.
You'll be surprised as to how much you could lose and still live. You can still have a fairly normal life without one of your lungs, a kidney, your spleen, appendix, gall bladder, adenoids, tonsils, plus some of your lymph nodes, the fibula bones from each leg and six of your ribs.
If the transplant rejection is picked up early, it can usually be treated successfully. It is possible for rejection to cause an organ to fail completely, but this is unusual. The treatment will depend on the type of rejection you have.
The candidates who will appear highest in the ranking are those who are in most urgent need of the transplant, and/or those most likely to have the best chance of survival if transplanted.
Kidney Transplantation Costs
In 2020, the average kidney transplant cost was US$442,500 (6). Charges for the transplant admission, which include the surgery itself, are the most expensive line item, accounting for 34% of the total cost.
Editor's note: On April 4, 2025, Towana had the pig kidney removed after she began showing signs of organ rejection. Despite living with the pig kidney for a record-breaking 130 days, Towana is now back on dialysis. Editor's note: AKF is grateful for the opportunity to share Towana's story, in her words.