The human body has an in-built immune system which defends the body from disease and attacks by alien components. Anything that is not compatible with the body is rejected. White blood cells called lymphocytes help the body resist infection by identifying foreign objects and harmful ones like bacteria, which are eliminated from the system.
When a person is hurt, wounded or burnt, or has some infection, various medical treatments are used to cure him. When the surface of the skin is affected, a skin graft is used to repair it. The donor skin is usually taken from another part of the patient’s body as human beings have a large surface of skin. This skin is not a foreign part; hence the body will accept and retain it. But if, for some reason, skin from another donor person is taken, there is every chance of the body rejecting it and the skin graft becomes a failure.
When skin from one individual is taken and grafted on the body of another, the skin graft may be rejected and it sloughs off. The host’s immune system identifies it as alien and foreign and launches an effective immune response, which results in the graft rejection. T lymphocytes attack the transplanted tissue and can destroy it within a few days. It happens in case of kidney transplants and other transplants for the same reason. Therefore before a skin graft is attempted, tissues from the patient and the potential donor have to be typed and matched, studied, and experimented before the final skin graft is done to avoid a rejection.
There may not be skin graft rejection if the donor happens to be an identical twin whose body tissues are similar to the patient’s. Sometimes blood relations like parents or siblings have similar body tissues and grafts from such donors may be accepted. Sometimes, if there is no other donor available, then the surgeon may use a small skin segment of this donor to get the body used to it and accept it. There is a very remote chance that such a procedure may make the body accept the donor’s skin even if it takes a longer time for the immune system to accept it. Bit by bit, slowly but steadily, the area of the donor skin can be enlarged till the body learns to accept it as it becomes familiar with it.
Otherwise, artificial skin grafts can be tried. Science has been trying to make an artificial skin to match a human being’s skin. We may see made-to-order skins in future. Tests have been conducted and are being conducted so that donor skins from people need not be used which have a chance of being rejected. |
