If someone has a successful lung/ kidney transplant, they are expected to fail after 5-10 years even if they take care of their bodies.
Why? Is there anything that can be done to increase this?
In: Biology
>Why?
Because the body is very effective at identifying and attacking foreign objects, organisms, viral agents and other intruders. The only reason transplants are successful in the first place is the discovery of powerful immunosuppressive pharmaceuticals, drugs that cause the immune system to stop working.
However, over time the body will still reject the organ even from a relative. Perhaps monozygotic/single egg twins wouldn’t have this problem since their DNA is or is almost identical, but I don’t know enough about that to make any statement.
>Is there anything that can be done to increase this?
There is significant research going on into extracting stem cells from the patients themselves and growing organs in a laboratory. This could potentially make the organs as functional as the ‘original’.
In case you don’t know, stem cells are a sort of *cell factory* that can divide almost indefinitely – and will adapt to their surroundings to produce the appropriate type of structures. Thus, they can be ‘convinced’ to make organs that are in near all respects identical to the individual they’re extracted from.
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