The History of Solid Organ Transplantation

This chapter provides a brief history of solid organ transplantation. Although the focus is on the living donor, the history of living donor solid organ transplantation is intertwined with the history of deceased donor solid organ transplantation. This is particularly true in the early years of solid organ transplantation when the earliest success for some solid organ transplants began with living donors, e.g. kidney, and began with deceased donors for other solid organ transplants, e.g. liver. The history of each solid organ in which living donors have supplied grafts (kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, intestines, and uterus) is described even though some are rarely if ever performed today, e.g. lung, intestine, pancreas. We also discuss the living domino donor—a candidate-recipient (most commonly the recipient of a deceased donor liver or heart) whose own organ is not discarded but is transplanted into another person.