SPECIAL FEATURES
Reverence for the Organ Donor Anthony P. Monaco,1 and Peter J. Morris2,3
rgan transplantation is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine, the removal of an organ from one person and its transplantation into another to replace lost function, cure disease, and save a life. So much of clinical transplantation involves the complex alchemy of combining the highest-grade clinical knowledge, execution, and expertise with the latest advances in translational medicine and basic science to achieve the best survival
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outcomes that certain human elements of transplantation may receive less attention and publicity than might be appropriate. This could be particularly true in the case of the organ donation process. The Editors would like to share with our readers the following letter written by a medical student who captures in words the tragedy and beauty of organ donation and affirms, less we forget, the reverence for the organ donor.
The authors declare no funding or conflicts of interest. 1 The Transplant Center, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 2 Centre for Evidence in Transplantation, Royal College of Surgeons, Oxford, United Kingdom. 3 Address correspondence to: Anthony P. Monaco, M.D., The Transplant Center, 110 Francis St, 7th floor, Boston, MA 02215. E-mail: [email protected] Received 11 March 2014. Accepted 17 March 2014. Copyright * 2014 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins ISSN: 0041-1337/14/9711-1089 DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000000195
Transplantation
& Volume 97, Number 11, June 15, 2014
www.transplantjournal.com
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
1089
Reverence for the Organ Donor Anthony P. Monaco,1 and Peter J. Morris2,3
rgan transplantation is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine, the removal of an organ from one person and its transplantation into another to replace lost function, cure disease, and save a life. So much of clinical transplantation involves the complex alchemy of combining the highest-grade clinical knowledge, execution, and expertise with the latest advances in translational medicine and basic science to achieve the best survival
O
outcomes that certain human elements of transplantation may receive less attention and publicity than might be appropriate. This could be particularly true in the case of the organ donation process. The Editors would like to share with our readers the following letter written by a medical student who captures in words the tragedy and beauty of organ donation and affirms, less we forget, the reverence for the organ donor.
The authors declare no funding or conflicts of interest. 1 The Transplant Center, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 2 Centre for Evidence in Transplantation, Royal College of Surgeons, Oxford, United Kingdom. 3 Address correspondence to: Anthony P. Monaco, M.D., The Transplant Center, 110 Francis St, 7th floor, Boston, MA 02215. E-mail: [email protected] Received 11 March 2014. Accepted 17 March 2014. Copyright * 2014 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins ISSN: 0041-1337/14/9711-1089 DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000000195
Transplantation
& Volume 97, Number 11, June 15, 2014
www.transplantjournal.com
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
1089
