Organ transplantation refers to a surgical procedure in which a non-functioning or diseased organ is removed from one healthy body and placed in the body of a recipient, in order to replace a damaged or missing organ.
Organ donation is the backbone of the transplant department in every hospital. A person may donate his or her vital organs, such as kidney, lung or heart, during their entire lifespan. In some cases, the donated organ may come from a deceased individual, a close family member or a relative.

For instance, the spouse of an individual may donate one of his or her kidneys, in case the partner is suffering from end-stage kindy disease. The non-functional kidneys or with low functional capacity are removed from the patient's body, and the donated healthy kidney is placed (transplanted) in its position during a typical kidney transplantation procedure.

Major types of organ transplant are:

• Kidney transplant: It is one of the most commonly performed surgeries around the world. However, the kidney transplant waiting time varies significantly from one country to another. This waiting time is due to some factors including the availability of doctors and donors.
• Lung transplant: It is a procedure opted by patients with diseased and reduced functionality one or both the lungs. In this surgical procedure, the diseased lungs are partially or entirely removed and replaced with the donated lung or a pair of lungs. Moreover, the donated organ may come from a deceased donor or a living donor.
• Hair transplant: This is another procedure that has gained popularity in recent years. This procedure is yet most helpful to people who have lost hair from their scalp because of ageing, prolonged illness, medications or any other condition.
• Liver Transplant: It refers to the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person. Liver transplantation is considered to be a final surgical option for acute liver failure and end-stage liver disease, although the availability of donor organs is a significant limitation. The most common technique used in this case is orthotopic transplantation (native liver is replaced with the donor liver in the same anatomic position as the original liver).
• Heart Transplant: It refers to a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with significant heart failure, and severe coronary artery disease (CAD) when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. The most common method used in this case is to take a functioning heart, with or without transplanting one or both lungs at the same time, from a recently deceased organ donor and implanting it into the patient.
• Bone Marrow Transplant: Also a specific transplant procedure which considered as a treatment option for many cancers, like stem cell transplant, commonly referred to as bone marrow transplant. This procedure is specially performed in patients who suffer from myeloma, leukemia and lymphoma.

What's the best place for an organ transplant?

India is one of the countries that come to our mind when we talk about an organ transplant. The availability of best hospitals specialised in organ transplant, surgeons with decades of experience and the low transplant cost makes India one of the best countries to undergo an organ transplant.