Preparing For the Surgery
Before a person can go through surgery, he or she has to accept the fact that his or her organ has failed. Each person may not go through the same stages, or in the same order.
These stages may include:
denial
anger
bargaining
depression
acceptance
The person has to be able to accept their new organ in order to provide proper care.
Counselors are often avaible as well as other people involved in this field. These people may include:
peer support worker
nurse
clinical nurse specialist
social worker
clergy
psychologist
Exercise is an other way to prepare for surgery as it is important to both your physical and mental health. Ohter reasons include:
physical fittness
reduce stress
meet people
have fun
improve your mental outlook
A health care team should help to advise the person awaiting for transplant which program is best.
Diet A healthy diet is also important when awaitng a transplant.
A dietitian may assign a meal plan to one that is based on the diet prescribed by the doctor. It is important for the person to get enough energy foods to maintain strenth and body weight.
Finding a Match
When an organ is found a few tests will be done to see if it is a match. These tests may include:
blood work - blood group compatiablity
measurements - size compatiablity
tissue typing - genetic similarities
cross match - the donor's and recipitant's bloods are mixed together to confirm there are no substances in the recipitant's blood which may cause rejection of the new organ/tissue.
When a transplant is ready to be preformed the patient will be prepared for surgery like he or she would for any other major surgical procedure. An infection, recent heart attack or the need for any other kind of surgery may cause a delay in the transplant surgery.
