This is done to replace either a damaged organ or to compensate for a missing organ in the body of the patient. The organ required is extracted from the body of the donor who has signed up for organ donation. A person may sign up to donate one or several of his or her organs after death or may do so for a close family member in case of an immediate need.

In case an organ, tissue or cells are derived from the part of one’s own body, then it is known as an autograft. In case it is derived from a donor of the same species, it is known as allograft.

Lung transplant, kidney transplant and liver transplant are some of the popular, yet complex organ transplant procedures that is performed after rigorous monitoring of the patient and the donor. There are several considerations that a doctor must make before transplanting an organ, cells or a tissue in the body of the patient.

Heart transplant refers to the surgical procedure in which a donor's heart is transplanted into the body of the end-stage cardiac patient or someone suffering from coronary artery disease. Hair transplant is a relatively new procedure in which an hair-bearing strop is extracted from a patient and transplanted on the scalp of the patient.

A majority of organ transplant procedures are conducted only when other forms of treatment have stopped working or in case of patients suffering from end-stage disease. Stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant involves transplantation of health bone marrow cells that are responsible for producing mature blood cells.