Week 8 Flashcards
What is Histocompatibility?
The science of matching tissues to prevent immune reactions.
Where are the possible areas that haematopoeitic stem cell donations can be from?
Peripheral blood stem cells.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells.
Bone marrow
Where are Peripheral blood stem cells found?
Circulating in the arteries and veins of the donor.
How are peripheral blood stem cells collected from a donor?
They are collected by an aphaeresis machine: These remove blood from the donor, separates the stem cells and then returns the blood to the donor without the stem cells.
How must donors be treated if they are having peripheral stem cells removed for a donation and why?
Patients must be treated with GCSF.
Concentration of stem cells in the peripheral blood is low so clinicians must increase the concentration of circulating stem cells. GCSF does this by making their bone marrow produce more stem cells which then migrate to the peripheral blood.
When are umbilical cord blood stem cells collected?
At the time of child delivery.
What happens to Umbilical blood stem cells after they are removed ?
They are frozen and can then be later HLA types and matches with patients needing HSCT.
What are solid organ transplants?
The transplants of tissues and organs.
What are the main targets of rejection of solid organ transplants?
Human Leukocyte Antigens
What type of cells are likely to cause graft Vs host disease in solid organ transplants?
Intact donor immune cells
How can rejection episodes of graft vs host disease be controlled?
Topical drugs
What are the benefits of using topical drugs to control graft vs host disease rather than oral drugs?
They cause fewer side effects.
Why in the past, has the liver not always been matched before donation?
There is a very few number of livers available for donation and so clinical needs often outweigh the ability to wait for organs.
The liver is large and so is able to withstand the immunological response.
Why are livers now clinically matched before donations?
Many livers are transplanted partly from relatives. Only small parts of livers are required and will then grow to be full sized within the recipient.
What is composite tissue transplant?
Transplanting tissue that is composed of many tissues in the same transplant.
Give an example of a composite tissue transplant.
Limbs, face, genitals, uterus etc.
What is HLA Antigen typing?
Proofing of HLA present on patient or donor cells.
What does a HLA antibody screening detect?
anti-HLA antibodies.
If anti-HLA antibodies are are present before a transplant, what has stimulated them?
Transfusion or pregnancy
If anti-HLA antibodies are are present after a transplant, what has stimulated them?
Transplant tissues which can cause rejection of the graft.
What does HLA crossmatching test?
The compatibility of patient HLA antibody profile against a donor.
Outline what occurs during HLA crossmatching.
Recipient serum reacted against cells from the transplant donor immediately before the transplant. This is to see if there are any antibodies against the donor which could lead to rejection.
Define transplant.
To transfer an organ, tissue etc from one part of the body to another or from one person or animal to another.
Define Autograft
Transplant of tissue to the same person
Give examples of an Autograft
Skin graft, heart bypass, autologous bone marrow.
Define Allograft
Transplant of tissue/ organs between two genetically non-identical members of the same species.
Define Isograft
Transplant of tissue / organs between genetically identical members of the same species.
Define Xenograft
Transplant of tissues or organs between different species
What are the 3 main issue areas in transplantation?
Complexity
Conditioning / Preparation
Cost
What are the issues with complexity of transplantation?
It can take weeks - years to find the correct donor for each patient. Sometimes a donation which is less than perfect may need to be used just to keep a patient stable.
Complex surgery is often required.
What are the issues with conditioning and preparation of transplantation?
Patients must be assessed to check that they are safe and suitable to have transplants.
Secondary heath issues usually need to be addressed before transplants can take place.
What are the issues with cost of transplantation?
Cost implications are high due to preparation, surgery, after care and conditioning drugs. Often a decision must be made on cost Vs benefit.
If a person has an autoimmune disease in their own kidney, what must happen before they can have a kidney Transplant and why?
This must be controlled or the new kidney would just be killed by the same disease.
What is the most optimal timing for transplantation?
Early transplantation is usually best but different diseases sometimes give individual times when the transplant would be best based on disease progression.