New Hope for Kidney Patients

Jan 27, 06:11 PM

The technique involves partially destroying the recipients' bone marrow and administering an antibody to lower the level of T-cells - immune cells involved in organ rejection.

The doctors, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, then transplant the organ - along with bone marrow-derived cells from the donor - and keep the patient in a sterile environment for about two weeks while the donated cells and the patients' own cells mix.

They claim four out of five patients given non-matching kidneys have successfully adopted their new organ and have been living without immunosuppressant drugs for up to four-and-a-half years.

Research continues.

(c) 2008 Sunday Mirror; London. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. New Hope for Kidney Patients
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