Drug-Free Organ Transplants From Unrelated Donors

ananyo writes "Researchers have for the first time managed to give patients a complete bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. The recipients were also able to accept kidneys from the same donors without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. Normally, such transplants would trigger graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) — an often deadly complication that occurs when immune cells from an unrelated donor attack the transplant recipient's tissue. The researchers report that five of eight people who underwent the treatment were able to stop all immunosuppressive therapy within a year after their kidney and stem-cell transplants, four of which came from unrelated donors (abstract)."

Comments

Wish they had this years ago

[elrous0]

My cousin/sister needed a transplant and it was a bear finding a donor. And even then she had to take all kinds of anti-rejection drugs with really nasty side effects.

Re:More medical break throughs please

[barc0001]

Hopefully future breakthroughs will be able to use organs from other sources or even artificial organs instead of relying on human donors. After all, we don't want to get into a situation like that Larry Niven short story where the demand for organs to extend peoples lives got so strong they started using convicted criminals as spare parts. And then to satisfy further demand, redefined what constituted a capital crime. Like jaywalking and littering...

Drug Companies will kill this

[Anonymous Coward]

Its only a matter of time before one of the large drug companies starts cranking out studies that this kills people. They have to protect their profit margins after all.

I find this information strange...

[Binestar]

My Daughter had a bone marrow transplant at the age of 18 months old and has been off immunosuppressants since 30 months of age. (She is currently 7 years of age with no rejection issues and no medications at all -- 100% cured, mild chimerism)

I guess I thought that was common? Her donor was unrelated, but had a 10/10 match on HLA. That might be the magic. This study lists it working for a HLA mismatched recipient.

Of course, I only have the knowledge you get when your daughter is going through the transplant process, not all the unrelated stuff that doesn't pertain to her actual condition.