[paul.fr]

Say i donated a kidney and the recpient died, could i have it back? Would my body reject it?

[Karen W.]

I have been wondering that very thing! I know the recipient always has to take anti rejection drugs, but do those drugs change the organ if it were to go back or render it unusable.. Good question Paul. I hope someone knows something helpful!

[MayoFlyFarmer]

i can't give you a definate answer, but i did used to work in a department with some of the top reserachers on transplantation, and nothing that I'm aware of says that it shouldn't be able to happen.  You would likely need to go on the same anti-rejection drugs as you would recieving an organ from anyone else, but you should be able to take it back.

[MayoFlyFarmer]

as a matter of fact, it just dawned on me that we used to do it in mice all the time.

[kdlynn]

but if it's your own organ why would your body reject it?

[Karen W.]

ditto!

[paul.fr]

but if it's your own organ why would your body reject it?

presumably, when the organ was donated the recipient would have had some anti-rejection drugs...could this make it then reject the initial donor?

[MayoFlyFarmer]

i would assume that chances are some small amounts of tussue from the initial recipient might come along with the graft, there wouold probably at the very least be some of their blood in it.  damn you all for trying to make me think about immunology, but i'm trying to think if any of the cells would develop any sort of tollerance to theirr body while it was in there??  don't think so though.