Why do organ recipients need to be a match but have to take anti rejection meds for the rest of their lives?
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“A match” is a matter of degree, and “rejection” is a matter of degree. No organ transplant will ever really be a perfect match, your body will always recognize foreign DNA. But some are a closer match than others. If it’s not a close match at all it will be instantly rejected, if it’s a close match, it’ll take many years before it’s fully rejected. The anti-rejection meds slow down the process of rejection, but they can’t cancel the basic biology of it all. The drugs won’t work at all on a bad match, and even with a good match, they won’t work forever. It’s considered lucky if you get 20 years out of a kidney transplant before it finally fails and you need another transplant. They usually fail within 10 years.
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