Objectives: Organ transplantation is one of the most remarkable therapeutic advances in modern medicine; it started as an experiment and has become a life-saving practice. We briefly describe the major milestones of this multidisciplinary clinical science, the challenges that it still faces, and we consider the crucial contribution that its example could set for other medical fields.
Materials and methods: A review of the literature was conducted and a selection of images was made to complete a brief history of organ transplantation, with a particular focus on liver transplantation.
Results: The largest problem affecting organ transplantation today is the shortage of organs. Attention should be given to preserving the peculiar high ethical value that characterizes the very nature of organ transplantation.
Conclusions: Methods successfully adopted by organ transplantation during the past 60 years can inspire promising fields, such as stem cell research, and provide useful tools to face the ethical challenges posed by scientific discoveries.