According to a story from independent.co.uk, organ transplants have been responsible for saving many lives. Organ transplants are often a critical part of treatment for a lot of rare diseases. In some cases, getting a new liver or kidney can mean curing a rare disease; in other instances, it can help a patient find relief from symptoms or prolong their lives significantly. For now and the foreseeable future, organ transplants will continue to be a critical component of health care and disease treatment.
Organ Transplant Risks
However, the fact remains that organ transplants come with some significant risks. A critical aspect of these operations involves preventing the immune system of the patient from recognizing the new organ as foreign and rejecting it. This is often achieved with drugs that suppress the immune system. However, this approach comes with its own set of potential risks. Transplant recipients are at a greater risk of kidney failure, cancer, elevated cholesterol, heart disease, infection, and diabetes. Mortality rates reflect these risks; five years after a liver transplant, for example, nearly a quarter of patients will have died.
Finding a Better Way
However, scientists are hoping that there is a better and more effective method. The research, at least for now, is primarily focused on liver and kidney transplants. Kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organ.
The critical piece in this new approach is a unique and relatively uncommon type of white blood cell called a regulatory T cell. These cells play a vital role by helping the immune system recognize the cells of the body as non-foreign. Deficiencies in these cells or other impairment of their activity can lead to autoimmune diseases.
The approach involves isolating regulatory T cells from a patient that is about to undergo a transplant operation. These cells are propagated in a lab along with some other cells that come from the donor of the organ. These regulatory T cells are then reintroduced to the patient’s body. They are then able to prevent the immune system from regarding the new organ as a threat.
Another team is looking at doing the same thing but with regulatory dendritic cells. A man named Michael Shaeffer underwent a liver transplant that utilized the new approach. Since the operation, which took place in September 2017, he now only has to take a single pill to control rejection per day. He is healthy and lives actively. However, more trial patients will have to test the new approach in the long run.
