SKIN patches could halve rates of deadly organ rejection in transplant patients, scientists leading an NHS trial hope.
Around 4,500 Britons have organ transplants every year, but the body rejects them in up to a third of cases.
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An experiment will now give 152 lung transplant patients a small 10x3cm skin graft from their donor at the same time as the operation takes place.
Experts believe the skin patch, to be placed on the forearm, will form a rash if the body begins to reject it – as a warning that the lung is also being rejected.
The skin reacts more quickly than other organs and can be seen, making it easier for the patient to notice that something is wrong.
If this happens, doctors can intensify treatment to control the immune system and prevent the donated lung from being rejected as well.
Trial leader Professor Hank Giele, from the University of Oxford, said: “A visible warning system like this is crucial for all transplants, but especially those with higher rejection rates.
“It is often difficult to know whether a reaction is caused by infection or rejection, as they look the same in the early stages, but the treatments for each are completely opposite.
“That’s why we focused the trial on the lungs.”
NHS implementation ‘could reduce rejection rates by 50 per cent’
Previous research on intestine transplants has found that the skin patch can also naturally reduce the risk of rejection.
The £2 million trial will be led by the University of Oxford alongside NHS Blood and Transplant and will recruit 152 lung transplant patients over three years.
Researchers hope that, if successful and implemented to all lung transplant patients, it could reduce organ rejection rates by up to 50 percent.
Health Minister Andrea Leadsom said: “Early detection of organ rejection means a healthier transplant, giving people greater control over their care and speeding up access to treatment.”
HOW TO BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR
JUST over 4,500 people received an organ transplant in 2023 from 2,387 donors – but more than 400 people die each year waiting because there are not enough donors.
NHS Blood and Transplant states: “Only one per cent of people who die in the UK every year die in the right circumstances and in the right place to be eligible for their organs to be used to save someone’s life.
“That’s why we need as large a group of people as possible.”
The law has changed so that all adults are “opt-out” organ donors, meaning hospitals can use their organs unless they tell the NHS they don’t want to be donors, or their family says no afterwards. of dying.
Six in ten families refuse to allow doctors to use their loved one’s organs.
People who want their organs to be used to help others after they die can register online at this link.
Health bosses have also added sign-up options to new passport and driving license applications to try to boost numbers.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
