Autotransplantation

Autotransplantation is the transplantation of organs, tissues, or even particular proteins from one part of the body to another in the same person (auto- meaning "self" in Greek). The autologous tissue (also called autogenous, autogeneic, or autogenic tissue) transplanted by such a procedure is called an autograft or autotransplant. It is contrasted with allotransplantation (from other individual of the same species), syngeneic transplantation (grafts transplanted between two genetically identical individuals of the same species) and xenotransplantation (from other species). A common example is the removal of a piece of bone (usually from the hip) and its being ground into a paste for the reconstruction of another portion of bone. Autotransplantation, although most common with blood, bone, or skin, can be used for a wide variety of organs. One of the rare examples is autotransplantation of a kidney from one side of the body to the other. Kidney autotransplantation is used as a treatment for nutcracker syndrome. Intraoperative blood salvage In blood banking terminology, autologous blood donation refers to a blood donation marked for use by the donor, typically for a scheduled surgery. (Generally, the notion of "donation" does not refer to giving to oneself, though in this context it has become somewhat acceptably idiomatic.) They are commonly called "autos" by blood bank personnel, and it is one major form of the more general concept of autotransfusion (the other being intraoperative blood salvage). Some advantages of autologous blood donation are: Blood type will always match, even with a rare blood type or antibody type. If only autologous blood is used during surgery the risk of exposure to infectious disease such as hepatitis or HIV from blood is eliminated. The risk of allergic reactions is reduced. The disadvantages are: Higher cost due to individualized processing, record-keeping, and management. In most cases, the blood is discarded if it is not used instead of being added to the general supply.