Organ Transplantation

The word transplantation means the replacement of tissues or organs by healthy tissues or organs either in the same body or organ from one individual to another. Generally skin, cornea, lungs, heart, kidney etc. are transplanted through medical surgery. It is a decisive procedure used in those cases where survival of individual is in danger (transplantation is only the last resort as life expectancy of individual is short).

In organ transplantation, the transplantation of cornea is easy but other are more complicated. So the principle of histocompalibility should be applied. In this process, the most significant drawback is that the body in which organ is transplanted do not accept it because it recognizes non-self organ and therefore, its immune system is triggered. Body wants to reject the non-self organ. Therefore in order to force the body to accept transplanted organ, certain drugs are used called immunosuppressant. But these drugs are highly susceptible. So to avoid such drugs, organ to be transplanted is usually taken from the member of ribling species. The immune system can also be suppressed by radiation. Scientists are engaged in searching ways to suppress only that part of immune system which is trigged by transplanted organs, while rest of the immune system may remain active to fight other invaders.
Saraswoti Lamsal
ls_saru@yahoo.com