Stem cells 'boost kidney transplants' “Stem cells beat kidney
rejection,” says BBC News. The broadcaster says that an
injection of stem cells given alongside a kidney transplant
could remove the need for a lifetime of treatment to suppress
the immune system. The news is based on research detailing the
outcomes of eight experimental kidney transplants where the
organ came from a living donor. In addition to having their
kidney removed, the donor also donated blood stem cells, which
can develop into any type of blood cell, including immune system
cells. After the recipient patient had received chemotherapy and
radiotherapy to suppress their own immune system, the donor
kidney and stem cells were transplanted. The aim was to help
prevent the organ from being rejected by altering the
recipient’s immune system to match that of the donor kidney.
Five of the eight patients were able to have their
immunosuppressant drugs reduced within one year. Furthermore,
there was no evidence that the donor’s transplanted immune