Is there a future for transplantation as we know it today?
If I have to answer the question in the title, the answer will be yes and no. No, there is no future for transplantation, as we know it today. The practices and policies are constantly changing. I hope that in the near future the number of cadaveric donors will increase in most countries owing to improvements in procurement organizations and better medical management of donors. I doubt, however, that it is possible to attain the number of cadaveric donors realized in Spain. Some of us may live to see that the cadaveric donor pool has decreased. Maximized donation without financial incentives for donors or their surviving families will go a long way to meet the demand, but I fear that in the future there will be some financial incentives involved in donation. Yes, there is a future for transplantation and there always will be, but not for transplantation as we know it today The question is whether xenotransplantation or stem cell therapy will be there to take over as the number of allotransplants fail to meet the increasing demand for organ allografts, a demand that cannot be met by a judicious combination of organs from living and deceased donors.
Gäbel
H
H
National Board of Health and Welfare, 10630 Stockholm, Sweden. hakan.gabel@sos.se
D002102:Cadaver; D006801:Humans; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000600:supply & distribution; D014180:Transplantation / Q000639:trends*