In life, there is one thing that is inevitable and unavoidable. The subject is often avoided out of fear. Death is universal. Every day, eighteen people will die in the United States of America while waiting for an organ transplant. Organ transplantation involves donating a healthy body part from a living or dead individual to another person. (Fundukian, Organ, p674-678) Medical illnesses do not discriminate. It doesn't matter wealth, race, religion or even age. The types of diseases causing and leading to organ failure are heart disease, cirrhosis, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, hepatitis, kidney disease and hypertension. Currently, medical professionals are able to transplant kidneys, livers, lungs, hearts, pancreas, intestines, cornea, skin, bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, veins , heart valves and the middle ear. Before we explore the history of organ transplantation, we must first understand some important terminology. Some of the important groups involved in organ transplantation are the recipients, the donors, the transplant team, the United Network Organ Sharing (UNOS), and the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network (OPTN). . First, recipients are people whose organs have failed and who received an organ from a living donor or a deceased donor. A living donor is someone who donates organs such as kidneys, liver, lungs, intestines, pancreas and bone marrow. The second type of donor is a deceased donor. A deceased donor is a person declared brain dead and the decision is made according to the wishes of the person or their family, a donor family as it is often called. The organs that can be donated by a deceased donor are kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, pancreas, intestines, corn...... middle of paper ......f Ethics of presumed consent and a proposal based on the required elements Response". Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. June 30, 1993. Donate Life America. "Understanding Donation" Donate Life America. Richmond, Virginia. 2013. Web. Fundukian , Laurie J., ed. Anti-Rejection Medications: The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Detroit, MI: Cengage Learning, 2011.---Organ Donation and Transplantation, The Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health. : Gale, Cengage Learning, 2013. Donation of Life Program. “Busting the Myths About Organ Donation.” Philadelphia, PA Web. Lupkin, Sydney. -United Stands.” ABC Hello America June 2013. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “Waitlist Data” Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Health Resources and Services Administration. Rockville, Maryland. Internet.