Organ transplant?

Question

If my blood type is type "O" and my friends blood type is type "O" can we both exchange our hearts if we want to? Just for the fun of it? It's good for the economy. The insurance companies will have to pay the doctors, nurses, equipment, and hospital facilities.

Answer 1

I think you have way too much time on your hands.If you intend to be a comedian, keep your day job if you have one.

Answer 2

First off, a heart transplant is not going to be done for the fun of it.
There are only two criteria for heart transplant, as you mentioned, blood type is one, the other is height, this is to make sure the donor heart is pretty near the same size as the recipients.
To correct one other peice of really ridiculous bit of misinformation in a previous answer, no they don't just die. I personally know heart transplant recipients who have been living with their new hearts for 15 to 20 years and more. With new immunosuppresive drugs, improved surgical techniques and other factors involved in the recipients care, the risks mentioned before (infections, cancers) are not anything like they used to be.

Answer 3

If tissue types match too, then yes, but most heart transplants only last a few years - the patients have this nasty habit of dying. Plus you'll have to take anti-rejection drugs that weaken your immune system (so your immune system doesn't attack the new heart), and you could get an infection, or cancers could develop (because your body's immune system can keep some cancers in check, too).

It's a worthy cause, but you'd better serve the economy by donating money to charity or something.

Answer 4

If your life is not threatened by the current state of your heart, then no, the insurance companies will NOT pay for it, nor will any self respecting surgeon go into anyone's body "just for the fun of it".

Answer 5

NO, tissue must match also, and there are many other factors too numerous to mention here. You sound like a kid, and you wouldn't understand them anyway.