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Nature Medicine 11, 605 - 613 (2005)
Published online: 3 June 2005 | doi:10.1038/nm1251

Organ transplantation—how much of the promise has been realized?

Robert I Lechler1, Megan Sykes2, Angus W Thomson3 & Laurence A Turka4


Since the introduction of organ transplantation into medical practice, progress and optimism have been abundant. Improvements in immunosuppressive drugs and ancillary care have led to outstanding short-term (1–3-year) patient and graft survival rates. This success is mitigated by several problems, including poor long-term (>5-year) graft survival rates, the need for continual immunosuppressive medication and the discrepancy between the demand for organs and the supply. Developing methods to induce transplant tolerance, as a means to improve graft outcomes and eliminate the requirement for immunosuppression, and expanding the pool of organs for transplantation are the major challenges of the field.


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