Each year there are an estimated 250,000 people who could benefit from a bone marrow transplant.A major challenge is finding a suitable donor with matching MHC proteins.Why is it important that the MHC proteins match between the donor and recipient?

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When a bone marrow transplant is performed, the donor's immune cells are transferred to the recipient along with the bone marrow. Therefore, if the MHC proteins in the donor and recipient are not a match, the recipient's immune system will recognize the donor's bone marrow cells as foreign and attack them. This is known as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and can be life-threatening. On the other hand, if the MHC proteins match, the recipient's immune system will accept the donor's bone marrow cells and incorporate them into their own immune system.

Each Year There Are an Estimated 250,000 People Who Could