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Allografts are tissue grafts from a different person of the same species, used in medicine for transplants. Donor material is carefully selected to match the recipient, and medication is needed to suppress the immune system. Donor tissue can come from cadavers or living donors. Allografts can integrate into the recipient’s body, but man-made fabric may be more suitable in some cases. Xenotransplantation involves using animal tissue, while an isograft is when one twin donates tissue to the other.
An allograft is a graft of tissue from someone else, as opposed to an autograft, where the donor and recipient are the same person. Allografts are routinely used in many branches of medicine to do everything from replacing damaged skin from burns to giving someone with kidney failure a new kidney. Sources for allografts vary, with donor material usually collected and stored by tissue banks, medical companies that specialize in the recovery, screening, and handling of biological materials used in transplant and grafting procedures.
In the case of an allograft, the donor material comes from a member of the same species, but the donor is not genetically identical to the recipient. As a result, the recipient’s body tends to reject the donor material, because it sees it as foreign. Because of this, recipients must take medications to suppress their immune systems, and donor material is carefully selected to ensure it matches the recipient as closely as possible. Blood typing is commonly the first step in screening, with further screening tests determining the likelihood of allograft rejection.
Some allografts come from cadavers. A variety of donor tissue can be taken from a cadaver, including organs, skin, bone, and eye tissue. People who wish to donate tissue for the benefit of other people after their death can sign up for organ donation programs and notify their families of their wish to have their tissue collected and used. In other cases, an allograft can be obtained from a living person. Kidneys, for example, may be sourced from living donors, most commonly relatives of the patient.
One benefit of using an allograft rather than an artificial replacement is that the tissue will eventually integrate into the recipient’s body if not rejected. In some cases, however, man-made fabric may be more suitable. For example, in some joint replacement surgeries, the success rates with artificial joints and donated tissue are quite similar. Because new advances are always being made, when patients know they will be undergoing a medical procedure that involves a graft or artificial implant, they should talk to their surgeon about their options.
If the donor tissue comes from an animal of a different species, this is referred to as a xenotransplantation. One of the more famous types of xenotransplantation involves heart valves from pigs which are used to replace faulty valves in people. If one twin donates tissue to her twin, this is called an isograft.
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