Why is it impossible to transplant a bladder? It seems strange to me that a heart can be transplanted and a bladder can’t.
In: Biology
There are risks associated with any organ transplants. There is a risk of rejection and the patient usually have to stay on medication for the rest of their lives, and these medications compromises their immune system making them more likely to die from infections. So when it can be avoided we tend to avoid organ transplants. For simple organs like bones and indeed the urine bladder, it is much easier to repair it then to replace it.
The procedure of adding an external bladder works great so there have not been much research into alternatives. We tend to spend money researching deadly things rather then inconvenient things. But there is some research into artificial internal bladder as well. It actually turns out the intestines are very similar to the bladder so we can graft parts of the intestines to repair the bladder. We are also looking at other artificial materials.
Latest Answers