Organ Donation Teaching Resource Pack

Anaemia

A shortage of red blood cells in the body, causing tiredness, shortness of breath and pale skin.

Blood group

An inherited characteristic of red blood cells. The common classification is based on whether or not the person has certain antigens (called A and B) on their cells. People belong to one of four groups, called A, B, AB and O.

Brain haemorrhage

Bleeding into the brain substance.

Cadaveric organ donor

A person who has donated organs after death.

Cornea

The curved transparent structure forming part of the outer coat of the eye.

Diabetes

A disorder characterised by high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood stream due to insulin insufficiency.

Graft

A transplanted organ or tissue.

Haemodialysis

A treatment for kidney failure in which blood is purified by passing it across an artificial membrane to remove waste products.

Heart valves

A fold of membrane that permits the flow of blood in one direction. The four major heart valves are the mitral, tricuspid, aortic and pulmonary valves.

Hepatitis

Inflammation of the liver.

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Hypertension

High blood pressure.

Mortality rate

The ratio of the total number of deaths to the total population.

Peritoneal dialysis

A treatment for kidney failure where fluid is inserted into the peritoneal cavity via a catheter. The toxins and excess fluid are then drawn across the peritoneal membrane back into the fluid.

Persistant vegetative state

A state where a person has suffered a severe brain injury resulting in a coma with sleep and awake cycles but no evidence of awareness.

Primary biliary cirrhosis

A slow, chronic liver disease that can gradually destroy the bile ducts within the liver.

Rejection

The process by which the immune system recognises a transplanted organ as not its 'own' and then tries to destroy it. Rejection can be acute or chronic.

Renal angiogram

A type of X-ray that looks at the kidney's blood vessels.

Tissue typing

A set of proteins on the surface of the cells which can be numbered to provide a 'tissue type'. The three main sorts of tissue type characteristics (called A, B, and DR) are used for matching in kidney transplantation.

Transplant

The replacement of an organ or tissue in the body.

Xenotransplantation

The transplanting of tissue or organs from one type of animal into a human or other type of animal.