Organ donation is a selfless way of giving back to others, it can also make a huge difference in giving another person a second chance at life. More than 117,000 men, women and children are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Every ten minutes, a new person is added to the organ transplant list. Unfortunately, some will never make it to the top of the list. The generosity of an individual donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and improve fifty more through tissue donation. Organ transplants are one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine. Becoming an organ donor is simple and can save the lives of many people who need help. So, how did organ transplantation begin, how is it carried out, and what is the future of organ donation and organ transplants. Organ transplants have been performed in the United States since the 1950s; Organ donations remove healthy organs and tissues from a human body, from a living or deceased person, to transplant them into another. Transplanted organs and tissues replace diseased, damaged, or destroyed body parts. They can help restore the health of a person who might otherwise die or be seriously disabled. The doctor first assesses whether the person is medically eligible for a transplant. If this is the case, the doctor then refers the person to a local transplant center. The transplant center evaluates the patient's health and mental state as well as the level of social support to see if the person is a viable candidate for an organ transplant. Once a person is accepted as a transplant candidate, the patient must wait until suitable donor organs are found. Organs and tissues that can be donated and used for transplants include kidneys, lungs, heart,...... middle of paper. ....arts, lungs, livers and other organs. another major step forward is deciding who can donate their organs. starting with living donors and now including deceased and brain dead donors. the development of anti-rejection drugs has increased the success of organ transplants. immunosuppressive drugs helped increase the success rate during the 1960s and 1970s. Cyclosporine was discovered in the 1980s and significantly helped increase the success rate of transplant recipients and improve patient outcomes . splitting organs from living or cadaveric donors into pieces was a huge medical breakthrough in transplantation. the first split liver took place in 1996, allowing the use of a cadaveric liver in several patients. Stem cell research examines adult and human embryos in an effort to discover how organs develop and what stimulates their growth..