immune disorders
Overview of Transplantation
Introduction
Transplantation is the removal of living, functioning cells, tissues, or organs from the body and then their transfer back into the same body or into a different body. The most common type of transplantation is a Overview of Blood Transfusion . Blood transfusions are used to treat millions of people each year. More typically, transplantation refers to the transfer of organs (solid organ transplants) or tissues. Transplants may consist of The person's own tissues Tissues from an identical twin, whose genes exactly match those of the person Tissues from someone whose genes do not exactly match those of the person Rarely, tissues from a different species (such as a pig) The transplanted tissues may be Cells, as in Stem Cell Transplantation None Part of an organ, as in some Liver Transplantation or Entire organs, as in Heart Transplantation or More than one tissue (called composite transplants) Organ transplantation, unlike blood transfusion, involves major surgery, the use of drugs to suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants, including corticosteroids), and the possibility of infection, transplant rejection, and other serious complications, including death. However, for people whose vital organs have failed, organ transplantation may offer the only chance of survival. Some procedures, such as hand or face transplantation, may greatly improve a person's quality of life but are not done to save a life. These procedures have most of the same risks as organ transplantation. They are highly specialized and done infrequently but are no longer considered experimental. 