Chronology of organ transplantation

UNION-TRIBUNE

Denise Davidson and Beth Wood, staff researchers

August 26, 2008

1954

A successful kidney transplant was performed between identical twin boys.

1962

The first cadaver donor was used for a transplant of a kidney, which kept the recipient alive for 21 months.

1966

A simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant was achieved.

1967

Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant; the patient lived for 18 days after the surgery.

1968

Congress passed the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, which regulates the donation of organs, eyes and tissues.

1981

A dual heart-lung transplant was a success.

1983

The Food and Drug Administration approved cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug to help prevent the body from rejecting a newly transplanted organ.

1984

The National Organ Transplant Act established guidelines for organ procurement and a registry for procurement and transplants.

1989

The first partial live-donor liver, which can regenerate, was transplanted.

2003

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated April "National Donate Life" month.

2004

The Donate Life California Registry was signed into law, establishing a unified nonprofit organ/tissue donor registry.

2006

The California Department of Motor Vehicles began to electronically register with Donate Life California anyone applying for or renewing a driver's license or ID who agrees to be an organ/tissue donor. Those who do, receive the pink dot.

2008

99,134 people in the U.S. are waiting for a transplant, nearly 20,000 of them in California.

SOURCES: ORGANDONOR.GOV; TIMELINESCIENCE.ORG; ANATOMICALGIFTACT.ORG.

This article posted November 27, 2008.