What causes a transplanted organ to be rejected? Can rejection be avoided? What is a compatible donor? Is there such a thing as completely compatible organs? These were some of the questions posed at the Science Café on Transplantation, the fourth and final café organized by by the Catalan Society of Immunology in collaboration with the Esteve Foundation and a team of young researchers from BIOcomuniCA’T.
A transplant is the transfer of an organ or tissue from one individual to another. The main risk involved is that the recipient’s immune system will react adversely and destroy the transplanted organ. The types of transplants that can be performed, how the risk of rejection can be minimized and what are the latest available therapies were among the issues discussed during the café by the following experts:
Dr. Jaume Martorell
Head of the Transplantation Immunology, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona
Dr. Sergi Querol
Umbilical Cord Bank, Blood and Tissue Bank, Barcelona
Dr. Eduard Palou
Laboratory of Immunology Research and Diagnostic Applications, Blood and Tissue Bank, Barcelona
The Science Café on Transplants, open to the public, took place on June 14th, 2012, at the Institute of Catalan Studies. All attendees received a copy of the book Els misteris immunitari system. Com protegeix the nostre cos (The mysterious immune system. How it protects us).
