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Say “Yes”…Register to become a donor today.

Join the Registry Today

The Katie Caples Foundation is committed to increasing the number of registered organ donors and eliminating the wait for the more than 125,000 adults and children in need of a lifesaving organ transplant.

Please watch “The Story of Katie Caples”, the inspiring result of her courageous decision to register to be an organ donor. This film was made possible by a generous grant from the Rayonier Advanced Materials Foundation and the support of Ebay Foundation, Team Georgia Gives. Special thanks to Discovery Communications for use of footage from TLC’s Trauma Life in the ER.

Upcoming Events

Big Heart Campus Challenges
Beginning Fall 2017

The Katie Caples Foundation has partnered with students at the University of Florida, University of North Florida, Edward Waters College, the Bolles School, Yulee High School and Fernandina Beach High School to create organ, tissue and eye donor education and registration campaigns during the 2017 – 2018 academic year.

15th Annual Katie Ride
Sat – Apr 21 | Amelia Island

Registration OPENS in September. Events include a 100, 63, 34 or 18 mile course, an Off-Road course through historic Fort Clinch State Park, an 8K Walk/Fun Run and the Katie Fun Tri. Volunteers are WELCOME too!

Learn More

Keep Giving Tuesday Silent Auction!

Stay tuned for details on the 3rd Annual Silent Auction benefiting the Katie Caples Foundation on Tuesday, December 4th, from 6pm to 9pm at Sliders Seaside Grill. The event is free! Everyone is welcome.

Tell Us Your Story

By submitting your photo and story you give the Katie Caples Foundation permission to share your story online in perpetuity. To have your story removed from our site, please make a request in writing to through our contact us form.

Heart

Overview

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The body’s hardest working muscle, the heart beats about 70 times each minute as it pumps blood throughout the body.

Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans than any other disease. Smoking cigarettes, obesity, lack of exercise, diabetes, hypertension and a family history of heart disease are all risk factors for heart disease.

A wide range of advanced heart diseases make heart transplants necessary; most common are coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy or weakening of the heart muscle. Other disorders, such as heart valve diseases, congenital defects and viral infections can lead to transplantation.

Transplantation

Almost 2,200 heart transplants occur in the U.S. each year. Most heart recipients return to full and active lives, and almost 75 percent of transplanted hearts are functioning after five years.

There are nearly 3,500 people on the U.S. heart waiting list. About one-third of patients get their transplant in a year; close to half wait more than two years. Every year, about 600 people die while waiting for a heart. Because the number of donated hearts is limited, many people who might benefit from heart transplantation are never placed on the waiting list.

A partial mechanical heart called an LVAD can be surgically implanted to help maintain the heart’s pumping ability until a donated heart becomes available.

Fast Facts

During the lifetime of an individual who reaches age 80, their heart will have beaten 2 to 3 billion times.
A person’s heart is about the size of their fist; this is true for children and adults.
They typical heart transplant procedure lasts about five hours. Many patients are on their feet within a couple days and released from the hospital in 10 to 14 days.
Only people who are declared brain dead and on life support in the hospital can donate their hearts for transplant; the heart remains beating up until the time it is removed.
Donated hearts are allocated to patients based on medical urgency, size match, blood group compatibility and time on the waiting list.
After being surgically removed from the donor, a heart must be transplanted within about four hours.
The longest-functioning transplanted heart is still working after 24 years.
A transplanted heart functions differently because nerves leading to it have been cut. Transplanted hearts beat faster than normal hearts at about 100 beats per minute; transplanted hearts also respond more slowly to exercise.
Fewer than 50 combined heart-lung transplants occur in the U.S. each year.

Lung

Overview

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The trachea or windpipe carries air to the lungs, where alveoli-tiny air sacs that are like folded balloons-extract oxygen and exchange it for carbon dioxide.

Elastic and spongy, lungs are divided into sections called lobes: three on the right and two on the left. A person in good health can lead a normal life with only about thirty percent of normal lung function.

More than 35 million Americans are now living with chronic lung disease, and every year, close to 342,000 die of lung disease making it America’s number three killer.

Transplantation

The primary condition leading to lung transplantation is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a term describing airflow obstruction associated primarily with emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Other conditions that can generate a need for new lungs are idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and primary pulmonary hypertension.

Although some conditions that lead to transplantation are hereditary, most are caused-and worsened-by smoking and environmental pollution.

To get on the lung transplant list, a person with end-stage lung disease must have progressive disability and lung disease that is unresponsive to other treatments. Many patients awaiting lung transplant are severely disabled and require oxygen 24 hours a day.

Fast Facts

A healthy person at rest breathes 12 to 14 times a minute; an athlete who is running may breathe 42 times a minute.
A healthy lung has about 300 million alveoli; each alveoli expands and contracts about 15,000 times a day.
Of nearly 4,000 people on the waiting list for lungs, roughly 10 to 12 percent die and 25 percent get a transplant each year.
About one-third of patients wait a year or less for transplant, while one-third wait one to three years and the remainder three years or more.
Currently, severity of illness is not a factor in determining position on the transplant waiting list Donated lungs go to patients based on blood group compatibility, size and time on the waiting list.
Since the late 1990s, living lung donation has made possible hundreds of lung transplants. Recipients receive two lobes, one from each of two donors.
A donated lung can remain outside of the body for several hours; most are transplanted within 3 to 6 hours.
The majority of lung transplants performed today are single lung transplants.
About 77 percent of lung transplant recipients survive the first year and about half live for five years. Many have lived more than ten years.

Kidney

Overview

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Nature gives us two kidneys even though we can lead normal lives with only one. In adults, each kidney is about five inches long and weighs about a quarter of a pound.

Blood flows from the heart through the aorta and into the kidneys, which filter wastes and excess water from the blood and balance the body’s fluids. The kidney also release hormones that regulate blood pressure, control production of red blood cells, and promote growth of healthy bones. Urine is one by-product of the kidneys elaborate blood filtering system.

Transplantation

Common causes of kidney failure include diabetes, high blood pressure. as well as diseases. many of them inherited, which damage the nephrons and other fragile structures deep within the kidney. People whose kidneys fail will die unless they receive transplants or dialysis treatments, which involve a machine that filters wastes from the blood.

Kidneys that are transplanted are donated either by live donors or by people who have died. Most people receive one transplanted kidney, which surgeons place in the front of their lower abdomen, cradled by the hipbone; failed kidneys are usually left in place.

People with transplanted kidneys almost always stay healthier and live longer than do people on long-term dialysis.

Fast Facts

About 300,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure and are on dialysis; many could benefit from kidney transplants today if donated kidneys were available.
More than 56,000 people, including many children, are on the national kidney transplant waiting list.
Donated kidneys are given to patients based on match with the donor, and time spent on the national waiting list; many wait 4 to s years on the list before receiving kidneys.
A kidney from a deceased donor must be transplanted within 24 to 72 hours after being removed from the body.
Since 2000, more than 40 percent of all transplanted kidneys have come from living donors.
About 88 to 95 percent of all kidney transplants still function after one year; kidneys from living donors do best.
Kidney transplant recipients can live full and active lives, but must take anti-rejection drugs to prevent the body from rejecting the new kidney.
The first successful kidney transplant occurred in 1954 and was between identical twins.
Each year, about 1,000 people, mostly diabetic patients, receive a transplanted pancreas with their new kidney.

Liver

Overview

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The body’s largest organ. the liver weighs about three pounds. It is well protected, behind the lower right ribs and is located on top of the intestines, stomach and right kidney. The liver has two lobes — one small left lobe and a large right lobe — both of which perform the same functions. At any given moment, the liver holds about one pint of blood, 13 percent of the body’s supply.

The liver is a complex organ that has more than 500 known functions. It breaks down harmful substances in the blood including drugs, poisons and alcohol. The liver produces bile that aids in digestion and also stores vitamins, sugars and fats.

Transplantation

The principal causes of liver failure leading to transplantation are viral infections like Hepatitis C, genetic disorders and alcoholism. Many liver diseases cause cirrhosis, scarring that occurs with inflammation. Scar tissue blocks the flow of blood, preventing the liver from functioning properly. Symptoms of liver disease may include jaundice, nausea and vomiting, dark-colored urine, fatigue and sudden weight changes.

Living donation is possible because the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself; an adult can give a lobe to a child or another adult. The donor’s liver fully regrows within four months and is indistinguishable from the pre-donation liver. A liver from a deceased donor can also be split and transplanted into two people.

Fast Facts

When the liver breaks down harmful substances, the by-products are excreted into the bile or blood; they leave the body in feces and urine.
Ten to fifteen percent of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, one of the ten leading causes of death by disease in the U.S.
Liver failure can be “fulminate,” sudden and complete, and is usually brought on by exposure to a toxin or severe liver disease.
There are more than 17,000 patients awaiting liver transplants. The waiting list for liver transplants has grown dramatically during the past ten years largely due to an epidemic of Hepatitis C.
More than 5,000 people receive liver transplants each year.
Approximately 85 percent of all liver transplant patients are alive at least one year after transplant.
A liver donated by an adult can often be “split” and transplanted into two people.
Liver transplant recipients range in age from infants to people in their 70s.
A donated liver can remain outside of the body 12 to 24 hours before being transplanted.
The oldest deceased liver donor was a man in his mid-80s.

Intestine

Overview

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The intestine extends from the stomach to the anus. The upper, small intestine (also called the small bowel) is narrow and about 20 feet long. It digests food and absorbs nutrients from digested food. The lower, large intestine (called the colon and the large bowel) is wider and about five feet long; it reabsorbs water from the digested foods and sends it back into the bloodstream.

Diseases, congenital defects or trauma that affect the way the small intestine absorbs nutrients or moves food through the intestinal tract may lead to transplantation. Symptoms of intestinal failure include persistent diarrhea, dehydration, muscle wasting, poor growth, frequent infections, weight loss, and fatigue.

Transplantation

The most common reason leading to transplantation is short bowel syndrome resulting from tumors, Chron’s and other inflammatory bowel diseases, congenital defects, trauma and other causes.

Small intestine transplantation can be performed in one of three ways: alone, in combination with the liver, or in combination with the liver, pancreas, stomach, duodenum or colon.

The large intestine is not necessary to sustain life, so it has been transplanted only in rare circumstances, and always in conjunction with the small intestine. This practice has been abandoned however, because the risk of infection is too high.

Fast Facts

The small intestine has an absorptive area of about 5,400 square yards due to folds in the intestinal wall, which contain small, finger-like projections called villi.
Layers of smooth muscle surround the small intestine, and move its contents downward.
The small intestine takes about six hours to complete the digestion of food, after which only water and indigestible substances are left.
Most patients with intestinal failure can be supported on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), a procedure in which nutrients are provide directly into the bloodstream.
The most common cause leading to transplantation is short bowel or short gut syndrome in which a large portion of the intestine has been removed because of disease or birth defect.
Slightly more than 1,000 intestinal transplants — alone and with other organs — have been performed in the U.S. since the 1960s.
About 200 people are now on the waiting list for new intestines or for intestines in combination with another organ.
Intestine transplants usually involve a deceased donor, although a living donor can donate an intestinal segment.
Small intestine transplants were first attempted in the 1960s and became successful in the 1980s.

Pancreas

Overview

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The pancreas — which is five inches long-produces insulin, a hormone that helps the body use glucose (sugar) for energy. The pancreas also generates enzymes that help break down fat, protein and carbohydrates during digestion. About five percent of the pancreas consists of cell clusters — islet cells — that produce insulin.

When insufficient insulin is available, a build-up of sugar in the blood — called diabetes — can lead to kidney failure, heart disease, strokes, circulatory problems and even death. It can also damage the small blood vessels of the eye, which is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S.

Transplantation

Type 1 diabetes – previously called juvenile diabetes – is the most common disease leading to pancreas transplantation, which can free the recipient from dependence on daily insulin injections. Surgeons insert the donor pancreas in the patient’s abdomen, and leave the patient’s diseased pancreas in place. combined kidney-pancreas transplants are often done when diabetes has led to kidney failure.

Experimental transplants of pancreas islet cells are also now performed. In this procedure, the insulin-producing islets cells are isolated from the pancreas and injected into the patient’s portal vein in the liver. In a successful transplant, the transplanted cells take up residence in the recipient’s liver and begin to produce insulin.

Fast Facts

More than 1,500 people in the United States are awaiting pancreas transplants, and about 2,400 people are waiting for a kidney-pancreas transplants.
About 500 pancreas and more than 800 kidney-pancreas transplants are done in the U.S. each year.
The U.S. is now experiencing an epidemic of type 2 diabetes-the body makes too little insulin or the cells ignore the insulin — in adults and children who are overweight and have poor diets.
Although diabetes can have a genetic component, behavior changes like weight control, exercise and a diet that limits sugars can delay or prevent the onset of this disease – or make it much less extreme.
More than 60 percent of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations in the U.S. occur due to circulatory problems associated with diabetes.
The pancreas can last up to 20 hours before it is transplanted.
The first successful kidney-pancreas transplant occurred in 1966; the first pancreas transplant took place two years later.
In rare cases, living donors give part of their pancreas (often along with a kidney); although the pancreas does not regenerate itself, donors rarely have problems because of reduced pancreatic function.

Blood

Overview

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Blood is produced in the bone marrow. It carries oxygen and nourishment to the cells, and removes wastes. Like skin, it is technically an organ because it is distinct from the rest of the body and has a specialized function. Blood has four principal components: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma.

Blood types-discovered in the early 1900s-are determined by antigens on the surfaces of red blood cells; the two most important known categories of antigens are blood group antigens (ABO) and the Rh antigen, also called the Rh factor.

Transplantation

About five million people receive donated blood in the U.S. each year-that is about one every two seconds. These blood "transfusions" are used primarily during surgery, in treatment of trauma or burns, and for people with blood disorders.

Donated blood is also used during organ transplants. In certain circumstances, 10 or more units of blood might be required for a liver transplant.

About five percent of all medically eligible donors contribute the blood that makes this possible.

Fast Facts

Blood cells are broken down into four groups or types: A, B, AB and O. The most common blood group is O.
Type O people are universal donors; they can give blood to people with all the other types; people with type AB are universal recipients.
Red blood cells can be refrigerated and stored for up to six weeks, or frozen and stored for ten years; platelets are stored at room temperature for up to five days; fresh frozen plasma can be stored and used for up to a year.
To help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, medical screening of potential blood donors and tests on their blood is exhaustive.
When a person donates blood, the body generally replaces lost fluid within 24 hours, but it can take up to two months to replace the red blood cells.
Whole blood can be donated every eight weeks.
To donate blood, someone must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and pass the physical and health history requirements.
Apheresis is the process through which a donor gives certain blood components such as platelets or plasma instead of whole blood. This allows collection of many more platelets, for example, than would be possible.

Bone

Overview

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The average adult has 206 named bones, which constitute about 20 percent of their body weight. Bones may seem lifeless, but consist of living protein fibers that constantly rebuild themselves. Tendons attach muscle to bones and ligaments attach bone to bone or bone to cartilage.

Traumatic or athletic injuries, degenerative diseases like arthritis, and cancerous tumors can destroy bone tissue and joints causing pain and disability. Donated bone and connective tissues including tendons, ligaments and cartilage are used every day to help treat hundreds of different types of procedures to reduce pain, restore mobility and save limbs from amputation.

Transplantation

Bone is the most commonly transplanted part of the body. The number of bone grafts also known as allografts, and the ways in which bone is used, increases each year ranging from whole tibia replacement to spinal fusions, joint reconstruction and dental surgery.

Donated bone, ligaments and tendons are processed by bone banks and made available to surgeons as needed. Donated bone helps patients avoid having to use an "autograft" or segment of their own bone, reducing pain and potential for infection. Bone grafts also have advantages over synthetic materials because they will stimulate new bone growth at the site of the transplant.

Fast Facts

Nearly 2.2 million bone transplants occur each year worldwide; about 750,000 are in the U.S.
One bone donor can help so or more patients. Tissue that is typically donated includes the bones, tendons and ligaments of the arms, legs, hip area and ribs.
Prosthetic devices are used for bone donors following donation to restore shape and structure so that a funeral service with an open casket viewing is possible.
The age range for most bone donors is late teens to about age 70.
People ruled out as bone donors include anyone with a history of cancer, infectious disease and high-risk behavior such as intravenous drug use.
Donated bone and tendons are used to repair common but serious injuries like tears to the anterior cruciate ligament, a ligament inside the knee that helps control movement of the lower part of the leg.
Prior to the availability of donated bone, patients with cancerous bone tumors would often have the affected arm or leg amputated.
Periodontists rely upon bone to treat severe gum disease.
Patients who receive bone grafts do not require anti-rejection medications because donated tissues do not prompt an immune response.

Cornea

Overview

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The cornea is the clear. dome-shaped window covering the front of the eye. There are more nerve endings in the cornea than anywhere else in the body making it one of the most sensitive parts of the body.

Clear vision or sight begins with light entering the eye through the cornea. Most common vision problems are directly related to problems with the

shape of the cornea. If the cornea becomes seriously misshapen, scarred or otherwise damaged. blurred vision or blindness can result.

Transplantation

Sight-restoring cornea transplants are also called corneal grafts and penetrating keratoplasty.

The most common problem leading to a cornea transplant is damage to the cornea from certain types of lens implants to correct cataracts. The next most common reason for a cornea transplant is keratoconus, a disease that causes the cornea to become thin and cone-shaped often affecting people in their 20s and 30s. Over time, the cornea becomes so misshapen that vision cannot be corrected with contacts or glasses. Other causes of cornea damage include injuries, burns and infections.

Donated corneas must be processed and placed in preservation solution within 8-12 hours after the donor’s death; to maximize chances of success, the transplant must occur within two weeks.

Fast Facts

There are more than so nonprofit eye banks in the U.S. that coordinate the distribution of donated corneas to patients.
There is no national waiting list of patients needing cornea transplants.
Each year, about 46,500 cornea transplants are performed, and more than 90 percent are successful.
The majority of patients can be under local anesthesia during their cornea transplant.
The donated cornea – about the size of a contact lens – is sewn into place with sutures that are about one-third the thickness of human hair.
Because the transplanted cornea contains no blood, rejection by the recipient’s immune system is rare.
In most cornea donations, only the cornea is removed and not the whole eye. cornea donors can have open-casket funerals.
Generally, infants to people in their 70s can be cornea donors; history of poor vision does not prevent someone from donating.
Sclera or the white part of the eye can also be donated and used to help treat injuries to the eye.
The whole eye is never transplanted, but with donor family permission may be taken for education and research.

Heart Valves

Overview

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Blood is pumped through the heart’s four chambers aided by four heart valves that open and closed and prevent blood from flowing backward. The four valves include: the tricuspid valve between the right atrium and right ventricle; the pulmonary valve between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery; the mitral valve in between the left atrium and left ventricle; and the aortic valve between the left ventricle and the aorta.

Infections and aging related diseases can damage heart valves; many children are also born with malformed valves.

Transplantation

Heart valve replacement surgery has been a routine part of modern medicine since the 1980s. About 95 percent of all valve replacements are the mitral or aortic valves-both of which are located on the left side of the heart, which pumps out oxygen-rich blood.

Patients have three options for valve replacements: porcine or pig valves, mechanical valves and human valves. Donated human heart valves have advantages over others including greater resistance to infection and no need for blood thinning drugs required with mechanical valves.

Donated valves are recovered from tissue-only donors and from organ donors whose hearts are not suitable for transplantation.

Fast Facts

Valves generally fail in two ways: stenosis, which means that they have become too narrow for enough blood to pass through and regurgitation, which means that the valves allow blood to pass in both directions.
A damaged heart valve causes the heart to pump harder and can lead to heart failure.
The first human allograft heart valve transplant occurred in 1955.
Thousands of valve transplants are done in the U.S. each year.
About two-thirds of the people who need new valves each year are less than fifteen years old.
People who have successful heart valve surgery suddenly find they can do things like go for a walk.
A valve transplanted in a child grows larger as that child grows.
Heart valve donors can range in age from newborn to about 55 years of age.
Donated heart valves can be cryopreserved for several years before being used.

Marrow / Stem Cells

Overview

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Marrow or "bone marrow" is the soft tissue in the cavities of bones involved in the production of blood cells in the body. Every year, thousands of people need donated marrow to treat a range of diseases and blood disorders.

The crucial element in marrow is blood stem cells, immature cells from which all blood cells develop including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets; some also divide to form more stem cells. Those that float in the blood system are called peripheral blood stem cells.

Transplantation

Marrow transplantation replaces the diseased marrow of the donor with marrow from a living donor. Marrow or blood stem cells are "infused" just like blood into the patient’s arm.

Marrow transplantation is used to treat more than fifty major illnesses, including cancer and serious blood disorders like sickle cell anemia.

If the transplant is successful, new marrow makes a home in the recipient’s bones,

and begins to divide into more stem cells, producing normal, healthy blood cells within two to four weeks. This is called an "engraftment." The donor’s marrow usually replaces itself in about three to four weeks.

Fast Facts

Thousands of marrow transplants are done each year around the world.
Diseases treated with marrow transplants include aplastic anemia, severe combined immune deficiency, sickle cell anemia, and a range of cancers that include leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, malignant lymphomas, multiple myeloma and solid tumors.
The prime risk to the recipient is graft-versus-host disease, which can be fatal; donors face minimal risk.
To minimize graft-versus-host disease, the patient and donor must be closely matched.
About 70 percent of people who need a marrow transplant do not have a family member whose marrow is a good enough match to do a transplant.
The odds of identifying an unrelated compatible marrow donor are about 1 in
20,000, but are higher within some ethnic groups.
Many donor registries exist in the U.S. and other countries; most share information in helping to match donors with recipients.
To sign up as a possible marrow donor requires a blood test to identify immune characteristics; this usually costs about $60, which government and other programs often pay.
Marrow donors must be between 18 and 60 years old and are screened carefully for cancer, infectious disease, heart disease and other medical illnesses.
Blood stem cells can be recovered from umbilical cords donated following birth and used for transplant.

Skin

Overview

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About 21 square feet of skin, weighing up to fifteen pounds, covers the average adult.

Skin is the body’s first line of defense against microbes, and also regulates heat and fluids in the body. It consists of two principal layers: the outer epidermis and beneath it the dermis, which gives skin its strength and elasticity.

Severe burns or other major injuries to the skin expose someone to infections and fluid loss that can turn fatal. Donated skin can help heal burns.

Transplantation

Donated skin can mean the difference of life or death for burn victims. A skin transplant or graft serves as a temporary covering and barrier while the recipients own skin heals. Skin grafts are temporary because the recipient’s immune system rejects them. Unlike other organ and tissue transplants, this is a desirable part of the healing process.

If donated skin is not available, physicians rely on artificial skin, which the recipient’s immune system rejects in about the same time as it rejects donated skin. Physicians usually prefer to use human skin as a graft, if available, because it produces better results in terms of less scarring and pain, and fewer infections.

Fast Facts

Like blood, skin is technically an “organ” because its tissues act together in an organized manner.
First degree or superficial burns are mild and effect the upper layer only; second degree or partial burns damage the upper dermis and may require a skin graft; third degree or deep burns affect the fat and muscle under the skin.
About 45,000 people in the U.S. are admitted to hospitals every year with burns.
Other conditions treated with skin grafts include cancer lesions, diabetic foot ulcers, and genetic blistering diseases. Bacterial infections and adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs can also cause life-threatening skin loss.
Skin grafts can be fresh or frozen.
Physicians differ on which they prefer; some say that fresh speeds up the healing process.
Donated skin is removed in a paper-thin, nearly transparent layer from the donor’s back and the backs of the legs. A skin donor can have a normal open-casket funeral service.
In serious cases, one burn victim may use more than 10 square feet of donated skin.
Donated skin is sometimes used to repair bladder weaknesses, including problems that can occur after childbirth.

Veins / Arteries

Overview

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Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body, and veins bring the deoxygenated blood back.

Diseases that can harm arteries include atherosclerosis, a narrowing and hardening due to the accumulation of fatty deposits often affecting the coronary arteries in the heart and the arteries in the legs. Atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

Transplantation

Donated veins are used to replace blood vessels that are damaged by disease or trauma. Vein transplants or grafts are frequently used in heart bypass surgery to re-route blood flow from the aorta around a blockage in the coronary artery. Donated veins are used in several thousand vascular transplants in the U.S. each year.

The saphenous vein, a long vein located on the inside of the leg, is the primary vein recovered from donors for transplant. It is processed by tissue banks an cryopreserved or frozen and can be stored for up to two years.

Fast Facts

Among the most commonly transplanted veins are the saphenous veins, the two large veins of the legs; donors also often give the aortic and femoral arteries.
Recent advances include use of donated arteries and veins to make continued kidney dialysis hook-ups possible for patients whose arteries have been harmed by prolonged dialysis treatment.
Donated veins and arteries make possible vascular reconstruction that restores blood flow.
Synthetic veins are used, but usually become clogged much more quickly than do donated blood vessels. This is one reason why some artificial grafts combine treated natural tissue. laboratory-engineered tissue, and synthetic polymer fabrics.
A condition called arterial insufficiency, common in people with diabetes, can lead to the amputation of a limb. Using a donated vein, a surgeon can re-establish circulation in an affected limb and save it.
Donated arteries can be used to repair some types of life-threatening aneurysms, enlargements or bulging of an artery that results from weakness in or damage to the wall of artery.
Vein transplants can serve as a physiological conduit for nerve regeneration.