Face-Transplant Patient Emerges

A 46-year-old Ohio woman revealed Tuesday that she is the first U.S. recipient of a face transplant, a procedure that embodies both the promise of major medical advances and the ethical and economic challenges they can pose for society. Connie Culp underwent a 22-hour procedure at the Cleveland Clinic in December to restore function to a face that was ravaged by a shotgun blast in 2004. Full Story : Wsj.com….

New discovery may end transplant rejection

When a new tissue is introduced (during organ transplants), one’s immune system kicks into overdrive, sending out cells known as killer T cells to attack and destroy the unknown tissue. Because of this, those who receive transplants have to maintain a regime of toxic immune-suppressing drugs. Scientists in Australia have found a way to stop the body from attacking organ transplants, greatly decreasing the possibility of organ rejection. Full Story : Examiner.com…..

Human Blood Vessels In Mice

Human blood vessels are grown in a mouse for the first time.This could help patients with heart disease. Scientists said that the research was promising, but it could help them to make lab-grown organs, and it can be implanted successfully. The ability to develop capillaries ( network of tiny blood vessels) would be a prize for scientists.

Gender Affects Kidney Transplant

According to a analysis of the “Collaborative Transplant Study”, female donor kidneys do not function as well in men, because to their smaller size. Women are at higher risk of rejecting a male donor kidney. Therefore, gender will be considered more in the allocation of donor kidneys in future. Data collected from almost 200,000  kidney recipients from 1985 to 2004 analyzed, and transplanting a female kidney was less successful than a male kidney. This is because of female kidneys have fewer nephrons. Immunological rejection problems occurred most frequently when women received a male kidney as well.

Photo Source: http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu