FETAL LIVER HEMATOPOIETIC-CELLS AND TOLERANCE TO ORGAN ALLOGRAFTS

Fetal liver haematopoietic cells were used to induce neonatal toleranc e to cardiac allografts. Newborn mice were injected with fetal or newb orn haematopoietic liver cells in two fully allogeneic strain combinat ions. There was no clinical evidence of graft-versus-host disease. Lon g-term survival of subsequent cardiac allografts occurred in both stra ins without immunosuppressants. Unresponsiveness was found not to be d onor-specific with prolongation of third-party allografts as well as d onor-type grafts. These findings have important implications for induc ing tolerance in paediatric organ transplantation.