Kidney transplant without medications (Drugless Transplants)

So you want a new kidney but not all the adverse effects that come with the medications. Or you think the cost of the medications make it prohibitive? There might be some good news on the VERY close horizon. A number of hospitals are participating in clinical trials to investigate the potential of using bone marrow from the donor to “trick” the recipients body into accepting the new organ. The process requires bone marrow from the donor to be injected into the recipients body.

Here’s is a REALLY quick drawing of how it works – you’ll notice radiation is included – at least in the model I read about, as is short term immunsuppression – both are not needed after the initial induction period.

Hospitals actively running pilots like this include: Mass General Hospital in Boston,MA and Northwestern Hospital in Chicago (First time transplants ONLY for both sites).