Transmission of cancer by a single multiorgan donor to 4 transplant recipients
The opposite problem is a compelling one as well. My transplant surgeon says that &quot;Snow White isn&#x27;t going to be your organ donor&quot;, meaning that patients must understand that every organ will have flaws and exposure to disease, exposure to imperfect lifestyles, etc.<p>None are perfect. But transplant recipients don&#x27;t need a perfect organ.  They just need one that will get them through their natural life.  A &quot;good enough&quot; one.<p>This mindset is important for the moment when an organ becomes available.  Many patients on the wait list for organs actually turn down donor offers because of some imperfection the doctor told them about.  In fact, some people turn down an organ just because another patient previously turned it down - even though the reason might have nothing to do with the viability of the organ itself. The consequences of such a decision can be fatal.<p>Instead, my surgeon pioneered the idea of transplanting Hepatitis C infected livers into patients who needed transplant because of HepC-driven liver failure. His idea was that young people recently infected with HepC who die tragically are often in otherwise excellent health (HepC is a slowly progressing disease) and make good donors.<p>His work allowed him to clear out the backlog of patients awaiting liver transplant at his center, with success rates as good as any other hospital. And today, it&#x27;s possible to kill HepC with anti-viral agents post-transplant.<p>(Minor edit for clarity.)