Future of transplantation medicine

Abstract

Organ transplantation has become very successful method of treatment of end stage organ disease. However the waiting lists of patients aiming such treatment are exponentially growing due to insufficient organ supply. Prognosis of the future for transplantation medicine is truly difficult. Prospects from past years, that "soon induction of tolerance will become possible"(1975), wide xenogenic transplant utilization (in 2000), fetal brain cell transplantation to treat some neurologic disease and transplantation of isolated cells instead of whole organs (1998) proved wrong. The research in the nearest future will be focused on tolerance induction, inhibition of alloreaction in blood-group discordant transplants (in immunized patients) and xenografts. In parallel, studies on hybrid and totally artificial, implantable devices (artificial pancreas and liver) will be carried on. 21st century will belong to regeneration medicine, with therapeutic applications of stem cells.