Includes bibliographical references and index.

Considering a Transplant -- The System -- The Wait -- Heart and Lung Transplants -- Liver Transplants -- Kidney and Pancreas Transplants -- Other Transplants -- Anti-Rejection Drugs -- Living with a Transplant -- Emotional Responses -- Family and Support -- Transplants in Children -- Living Donors -- Donors and Recipients -- Financial Issues -- Traveling for Treatment -- The Future of Transplantation.

Over 64,000 people in the US are living in limbo, awaiting an organtransplant. The good news is that transplants are becoming fairlyroutine surgical procedures and they do work miracles. People who havebeen ill for years often describe a feeling of being reborn after atransplant.However, those families who have been told that a loved one needs atransplant to live are thrust into a strange and worrying land. "OrganTransplants: Making the Most of Your Gift of Life answers theconcerns of families in this difficult situation, including: Deciding whether to have a transplant and choosing a transplant team The importance of the screening interview What factors go into determining a match, and what to do whilewaiting Detailed information on heart and lung, liver, kidney and pancreas, and other transplants Anti-rejection drugs and living with a transplant Emotional responses and support Specific situation such as living donors, transplants in children, meeting the donor family, etc.Robert Finn, medical journalist and author, has interviewed dozens ofpatients, family members, and medical experts to present you with thelatest facts about transplantation--as well as the stories behind them.