Good news for transplant recipients !!

University of Louisville researchers are working closely with ones from Northwestern University on a project that one day may drastically change the lives of transplant recipients. According to a study on the courier-journal.com, University of Louisville Researcher on Cusp of Organ-Transplant Breakthrough, the researchers are currently conducting an experiment where specially processed stem cells from an organ donor are given to the donor's recipient. The recipient then develops a "combined immune system" which includes part of the donor's immune system and part of the recipient's. The recipient's body will then recognize the transplanted organ as it's own and not reject it.

Currently, twelve kidney recipients are involved in the experiment. One of them stopped anti-rejection medications last July, another went off theirs in February, and three others will stop them by June. So far, the results of the experiment have been great bringing great promise for the future. If transplant patients could stop taking anti-rejection medications one day, their lives would change. They would not have to worry about the side effects the medications can cause, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and kidney problems. The problems that result from a suppressed immune system, such as higher risk of infection and cancer development, would be a thing of the past, too. Plus, their medical expenses would go down drastically due to not having to take the ultra-expensive anti-rejection medications. Now, that's change you can really believe in.