Transplantation

Organ transplantation in Russia

Main article: Organ transplantation in Russia

Organ transplantation

Bone marrow transplantation

Main article: Bone marrow transplantation

Intestinal transplantation

Main article: Intestinal transplantation

Liver transplantation

Main article: Liver transplantation

Lung transplantation

Main article: Lung transplantation

Organ trade

Main article: Organ trade

2025

Doctors in the United States seize organs from living patients. These cases have become massive throughout the country

In American hospitals, there has been an increase in the number of cases when patients who agree to become organ donors after death face premature or unsuccessful attempts to extract organs. Problems are related to errors in death determination procedures and violations of medical protocols when working with potential donors. This was reported by the investigation of journalists on July 21, 2025.

According to The New York Times, the newspaper collected evidence from 55 doctors from 19 states who witnessed at least one "alarming" case of organ seizure. The investigation is based on an analysis of internal records of American hospitals and testimony from medical professionals about irregularities in the donation system.

Doctors in the United States carry out operations to remove organs from living patients, and such cases began to occur everywhere in the country

In the United States, the number of people who are ready to become organ donors is growing. A third of all donation cases occur in patients with cardiovascular diseases, which creates additional difficulties for doctors in determining the moment of death.

According to the current rules, it is possible to disconnect the patient from life support systems only after obtaining the consent of relatives. After that, doctors must wait for a cardiac arrest, which usually happens in an hour or two. Only in this case can donor organs be considered viable for transplantation.

The paper gives a specific example of Misty Hawkins, 42, from Alabama. The woman was admitted to hospital after choking during a meal and then falling into a coma. The decision to disconnect from the life support system was made by the patient's mother.

Misty Hawkins was disconnected from the ventilator and declared dead 103 minutes later. However, when the surgeon made an incision on the woman's chest and propylated the sternum, doctors found that the patient's heart still continued to beat.^[1]

Fully robotic heart transplant performed for the first time in history

On June 17, 2025, American researchers from Baylor College of Medicine announced the first ever fully robotic heart transplant operation for an adult patient. It was a 45-year-old man with severe heart failure. Read more here.

World's first successful bladder transplant performed

Surgeons at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA performed the first human bladder transplant in world practice. The unique operation took place on May 4, 2025 and also included a kidney transplant to a patient who had been on dialysis for seven years. Read more here

Kazakhstan Heart Center UMC presented a device for preserving donor organs for 24 hours

In April 2025, a team of UMC Heart Center research doctors introduced the innovative ALEM (Astana Life Ex-situ Machine) system in Osaka, capable of maintaining the viability of donor organs for more than 24 hours, which exceeds the capabilities of traditional methods by six times. The unique development was created under the leadership of UMC Chairman of the Board Yuri Pi with the support of the Heart Center Foundation. Read more here

The Ministry of Health approved the list of objects allowed for transplantation

In mid-April 2025, the Ministry of Health of Russia, together with the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), approved a new list of objects allowed for transplantation. The document, registered by the Ministry of Justice of Russia, includes 25 different human organs and tissues, including the heart-lung complex, blood vessels, liver and eyeball. The new order will come into force on September 1, 2025.

What organs can be transplanted in Russia. Ministry of Health approved the list

According to Medvestnik, the updated list of transplantation objects includes such items as:

1. Amniotic sheath.
2. Testicular protein sheath.
3. Vascularized soft tissue complex comprising dermal layer of skin, subcutaneous fat and muscle.
4. Upper limb and its fragments.
5. Temporal fascia.
6. Eyeball (cornea, sclera, lens, retina, conjunctiva).
7. Intestines and fragments of it.
8. Cells designed to replace (perform) their inherent functions in the body, which are obtained (prepared) from biological material as a result of its grinding, homogenization, enzymatic treatment, removal of undesirable components, selective cell selection, and (or) their treatment in order to remove preserving (preservating) agents in case of their storage and which do not contain other substances (objects) with the exception of water, crystalloids, sterilizing, preserving and/or preservating agents, as well as biological material for their production (preparation).
9. Heart complex is a lung.
10. Skull arch bones.
11. Bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cells.
12. Easy.
13. Lower limb and its fragments.
14. Mandible.
15. Liver.
16. Pancreas with 12-ring intestine.
17. Subcutaneous fat of the plantar region of the foot.
18. Kidney.
19. Spleen.
20. Heart.
21. Serous liver capsule.
22. Vessels (areas of the vascular bed).
23. Trachea.
24. Fibrotic kidney capsule.
25. Endocrine glands (pituitary gland, adrenal gland, parathyroid gland, salivary gland, testicle).

A separate item in the list indicates cells designed to replace functions in the body that are obtained from biological material as a result of its special treatment.^[2]

2024

For the first time in history, doctors managed to successfully transplant a whole eye for a person along with part of the face

In mid-September 2024, successful results of the world's first complete transplantation of the eye and part of the face were published. The surgical team at NYU Langone Health performed the surgery in May 2023, when Army veteran Aaron James, 46, who survived the shock, was on the operating table. A year later, the doctors noted a significant improvement in the wound surface and reported that the patient returned to daily life. Read more here.

Innovative tissue imaging method developed that will transform transplantology

On September 9, 2024, a team of researchers from King's College London announced the development of an innovative non-invasive method for imaging deeply located tissues. The technology is expected to improve cartilage transplantation by laying the foundation for treating osteoarthritis.

Specialists from the University of Southern Denmark and Boston University took part in the work. It is noted that during transplantation, the composition of the tissues is of critical importance: if it is disturbed, rejection may occur. This also applies to the extracellular matrix, which forms the basis of connective tissue, provides mechanical support for cells and the transport of chemicals. Traditional imaging techniques such as fluorescence microscopy use fluorescent labels, which limits visibility and can be toxic to cells. This creates certain difficulties in tissue transplantation.

A new tissue imaging method has been developed that can change transplantology

In particular, two sets of tissue cultures must be grown in the laboratory before they can be transplanted into the body: one for sample evaluation and the other for transplantation. In addition to being an expensive procedure, the large variation in the characteristics of lab-grown cells means that even if scientists visualize a sample created under the same conditions as the one they plan to transplant into the body, they cannot be sure that it will not be rejected. The new imaging technology is designed to solve the problem.

The created system uses light to visualize the molecular structure of deep tissues without the need for fluorescent labels. Raman spectral projection tomography is involved, which allows you to study the extracellular matrix deeper and more accurately without harming tissues. The method will expand the use of tissue engineering in medicine and halve the cost of tissue production in the laboratory.^[3]

First time a person has had a fully mechanical heart implanted

In early July 2024, the Texas Heart Disease Institute in the United States successfully implanted a fully mechanical heart manufactured by BiVACOR in humans. Read more here

For the first time, a person successfully transplanted the larynx and throat

On February 29, 2024, a patient in the United States successfully transplanted the larynx and pharynx. This became known in July 2024. Read more here.

2023

Number of post-mortem organ donation cases per 1 million people in Europe

Different national (and sometimes regional) systems exist in EU member states to allow people to consent to organ donation after death. Within the framework of the "voluntary consent" system (opt-in, presumption of disagreement), consent must be given explicitly during life. The system of "refusal" (opt-out, presumption of consent) supports the principle of "presumed consent" (silence is tantamount to consent), a citizen is considered consenting to donation if he has not expressed official disagreement during his lifetime or if a specific request for the non-placement of organs for donation is not made before death. There are also mixed systems. Some countries have established donor and/or non-donor registries to which citizens can contribute. In practice, there are differences in functioning as the family of the deceased still plays an important role in decision-making. Regardless of the system, there are general ethical principles, including a ban on financial benefits from bodies and protection of the rights of both donors and recipients, enshrined in international agreements.

To Europe The main source of organs suitable for use transplantations is donations from donors with a fixed one - death brain the number of such donations significantly exceeds the number of organ revenues from donors who have had a complete cardiac arrest, or from living donors.^[4]

According to a 2017 European Commission study on the implementation and impact of the EU action plan for organ donation and transplantation in EU Member States, post-mortem donation serves as a source of receipt of organs for transplantation such as the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and small intestine.^[5]

The world's first whole-eye transplant was performed - from a dead donor. Photo

On November 9, 2023, American specialists from the Langone Health Medical Center at New York University announced the world's first successful whole-eye transplant operation. The most complex surgical procedure, carried out on May 27, 2023, lasted about 21 hours and was carried out under the guidance of Doctor of Medical Sciences Eduardo Rodriguez. Read more here.

Man who transplanted pig's heart dies

At the end of October 2023, Laurence Fawcett, the world's second patient to receive a pig heart transplant, died. He died six weeks after undergoing transplant surgery. Read more here.

The world's first device for monitoring the work of transplanted organs in real time is presented

On September 7, 2023, American researchers from Northwestern University announced the development of the world's first device for continuous monitoring of the state of transplanted organs in real time. Read more here.

Successful uterine transplant from living donor performed for the first time

On August 23, 2023, surgeons from Oxford Churchill Hospital announced the first Britain in a successful transplantations uterine operation from a living donor. More. here

An innovative coating has been developed to help all implants take root

On May 5, 2023, American researchers at the University of Illinois (UIC) at Urbana-Champaign announced the development of an advanced coating for orthopedic implants that helps in the fight against infections and prevents excessive mechanical loads. Read more here.

2022

Australia first to officially allow microbiota transplant

On November 9, 2022, the Australian company BiomeBank announced that it had received approval from the local Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for its gut microbiota-based drug Biomictra. This is the first time that any regulator in the world has officially authorized a similar type of therapy. Read more here.

World's first partial heart transplant performed

In early September 2022, a team of specialists from the Duke Health Clinic performed the world's first partial heart transplant, in which living arteries and valves from a fresh donor heart were connected to the patient's existing heart. Read more here.

First transplantation of organoid into human

On July 7, 2022, the research team of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University announced that it had managed to carry out the world's first clinical transplantation of a mini-organ to a patient with ulcerative colitis. Read more here.

Genetically modified pig heart successfully transplanted into humans for the first time

In January 2022, a genetically modified pig heart was successfully transplanted into humans for the first time. The operation was carried out by doctors at the University of Maryland, the patient was 57-year-old David Bennett, who suffered from terminal terminal heart disease. Read more here.

2021: Announcement of a device for transporting a donor heart, which was previously considered unsuitable

On September 7, 2021, TransMedics launched a product called Organ Care System (OCS) Heart. It is an apparatus for transporting a donor heart, which was previously considered unsuitable. Read more here.

2020

First transplant of lab-grown heart cells

In late January 2020, the Osaka University team announced it had performed the world's first transplantation of lab-grown heart muscle cells.

The surgery was conducted as part of a clinical study of the safety and efficacy of therapy using induced pluripotent stem cells. They are grown from adult donor cells, having previously been reprogrammed into an undifferentiated state, similar to embryonic cells, from which internal organs are then formed.

Yoshiki Sawa, a professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Osaka University, and his colleagues tried to transplant heart muscle cells for three years into 10 patients suffering from serious heart failure caused by ischemic cardiomyopathy. In January 2020, the team performed a successful operation. The patient was transferred from intensive care to a general ward. He continues to be monitored.

Transplanted cells on a special self-decomposing sheet attached to a patient's heart surface are expected to grow and release a protein that will help regenerate blood vessels and improve heart function. Each sheet with cells has a width of 4 to 5 centimeters and a thickness of 0.1 millimeters.

The team will continue to monitor the patient over the next year. The study includes a rigorous assessment of the risks, in particular the likelihood of cancer, and an assessment of the effectiveness of transplantation. This is the second clinical trial of pluripotent cells in Japan. The first was conducted among patients with eye diseases by the Riken Research Institute.

I hope that cell transplantation will become a medical technology that will save as many people as possible - I have seen enough patients who could no longer help, "Sava said at a press conference.[6]

2018: World's first penis and scrotum transplant

At the end of April 2018, it became known about the world's first operation to transplant a penis and scrotum with surrounding tissues, carried out by an American soldier who was injured in the detonation of an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Successful transplantation was reported at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA.

As follows from the press release, excerpts from which are published by Reuters, the operation, which lasted 14 hours, was performed on March 26, 2018 by a team of nine plastic surgeons and two urologist surgeons. The patient, who wished to remain anonymous, has already recovered from the operation and will be discharged from the hospital by the end of April.^[7]

We hope that the transplant will restore the urinary and sexual functions of a young person to almost normal levels, "said Dr. Andrew Lee, head of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

According to the Afghan war veteran, the wound he received was simply unimaginable, and it was very difficult for him to come to terms with it.

Waking up (after surgery), I finally felt more... normal. I felt confident that I was now in order, - the man recalls.[8]

As Dr. Andrew Lee explained, when reconstructing the penis, it is possible to use the patient's own tissues, however, with this option, an implantable prosthesis is needed to achieve an erection, due to which the risk of infection increases. In addition, due to other injuries, the man did not have enough tissues suitable for transplantation on the rest of the body, so it was decided to resort to organ transplantation.

It is worth adding that earlier, in December 2012, the surgeons of the clinic at Johns Hopkins University were the first in the United States to perform a transplant operation in which both hands were transplanted to an injured serviceman.

An operation in which parts of the body or tissue are transplanted from one person to another is called vascularized composite allotransplantation. This method includes transplantation of skin, muscles and tendons, nerves, bones and blood vessels. As with any transplant operation, there is a risk of tissue rejection, and therefore the patient is prescribed a course of immunosuppressive drugs. Johns Hopkins University specialists have developed an immunomodulation method that minimizes the use of drugs that prevent tissue rejection.

Notes