Health Services
Organ Recovery - The Process
Organ Recovery Home 
At the transplant center, the recipient is admitted to the hospital, lab tests are drawn along with vital signs and further education about the transplant process is presented to the recipient and finally a surgical consent form is signed. Organs are never removed from the recipient until the procurement team returns to the hospital with the organ.
The transplant takes place as soon as the transplant surgeon reexamines the donor organ. The organs are examined in the operating room to ensure that the anatomy is normal, there is no trauma and the organs are suitable for transplant into a waiting recipient. The patient is put to sleep via anesthesia, an incision is made and the diseased organ is removed and replaced with the healthy new organ. The patient is then sent to the intensive care unit for the postoperative phase. Most uncomplicated transplant recipients are extubated (breathing tubes removed) within 24 hours after transplant with a plan already in motion for the physical rehabilitation of the patient. The pace is quick throughout the recovery process to prevent any undue post-operative complications that immobility may cause and to keep health care costs to a minimum.
