INTESTINAL TRANSPLANTATION - LIVING-RELATED

The use of live donors in intestinal transplantation could potentially both reduce the severity of rejection responses against this highly i mmunogenic organ by better tissue matching and also reduce cold ischae mia times. These two advantages over cadaveric grafts could preserve m ucosal integrity and reduce the risk of systemic sepsis From bacterial translocation. The disadvantages of live donation are the inherent ri sk to the donor and the compromise of using a shorter graft. Although only a handful of such cases have been performed, the success rate has been high and this is a therapeutic modality which should be explored further.