eli5 why organs like liver, kidney, heart, lung require rejection meds, but blood transfusions apparently don’t.
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Blood transfusions are usually not meant to last. They are given if the patient is low on blood and is struggling to get oxygen to their organs. In such a situation, it’s about immediate action, and the blood transplant works fine to replace the lost blood while the doctors finish the surgery or find where they’re bleeding from. It doesn’t matter so much if the cells are killed in the next two weeks as they’ve fulfilled their purpose. They’re kind of suicide helpers as it were.
The other main role of a blood transfusion is more providing a bunch of signalling chemicals that promote tissue healing. Again, not so interested in the long term effects. Plus, red blood cells don’t have very long lives as it is, so even without being rejected, they die after a couple of weeks tops. The aim is not to permanently be a part of the patients body, but just to keep them alive long enough for them to make their own blood again.
Organ transplant you want the thing to last as long as possible as it’s hard to find a close enough match to begin with. Once you have one, you want to keep it in as good condition as you can, so you give immune suppressant medication to prevent it.
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