Transplantationer

Transplantationer refers to the field and practice of transplanting organs, tissues, or cells from one individual to another. It encompasses clinical surgery, immunology, ethics, and organ allocation. Types include organ transplantation (such as kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, and intestine), hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and various tissue transplants (corneas, bone, skin, tendons, heart valves). Cell transplantation is also used, including islet cell transplants for diabetes.

Donor sources include living donors and deceased donors. Matching involves compatibility of blood type and, for some transplants, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing; statistical models guide allocation to balance wait times and urgency. Procedures typically require surgical transplantation followed by lifelong immunosuppressive therapy to reduce rejection risk; regimens commonly include calcineurin inhibitors, antiproliferatives, and corticosteroids, with monitoring for infection and malignancy.

Outcomes have improved with better pharmacology, organ preservation, and matching, though rejection and complications remain concerns. Rejection can be hyperacute, acute, or chronic. Immunosuppression carries risks such as infection, cardiovascular disease, and cancer; thus dose minimization and individualized regimens are active research areas.

Ethical and legal frameworks govern donor consent, confidentiality, and organ allocation to ensure equity. In many countries, national registries coordinate donor recruitment, organ recovery, and distribution. The history of transplantation includes the first successful organ transplants in the 1950s–1960s and ongoing advances in xenotransplantation, regenerative medicine, and tolerance research.