Receiving the Gift of Life: Stories from Organ Transplant Recipients
Receiving the Gift of Life: Stories from Organ Transplant Recipients
Organ transplantation can extend an individual’s life by decades. It can also greatly improve an individual’s quality of life, for example, by eliminating the need for kidney dialysis. At the same time, organ transplantation is expensive and stressful. Recipients can experience complications, including organ rejection, and few appealing alternatives exist. This VOICES issue provides a glimpse into the lives and experiences of organ recipients before, during, and after transplantation.
“This symposium helps cultivate a robust, intimate understanding of the experiences and perspectives of organ recipients and their families and presents a valuable opportunity to learn from those with firsthand experience of receiving an organ transplant. The stories and commentaries identify ways that the transplantation experience—from first being listed to lifelong aftercare—can be improved for others moving forward.”