Transplantation is the process of moving cells, tissues, or organs, from one site to another, either within the same person or between a donor and a recipient. If an organ system fails, or becomes damaged as a consequence of disease or injury, it can be replaced with a healthy organ or tissue from a donor. Organ transplantation is a major operation and is only offered when all other treatment options have failed. Consequently, it is often a life-saving intervention. In 2015/16, 4,601 patient lives were saved or improved in the UK by an organ transplant.i Kidney transplants are the most common organ transplanted on the NHS in the UK (3,265 in 2015/16), followed by the liver (925), and pancreas (230).i In addition, a total of 383 combined heart and lung transplants were performed, while in 2015/16. However, whole organs are not the only type of transplant. The cornea, for example, is the most transplanted single tissue, with 5,734 procedures carried out in 2015/16.i Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), often called blood and marrow transplantation (BMT), is another common tissue transplantation procedure. Used to treat a broad spectrum of diseases, though most commonly for blood or bone marrow cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma, around 3,600 HSCT transplants were undertaken in 2012.

The immune system plays a critical role in transplantation. The complex mechanisms of immunity, which under normal circumstances work to identify foreign microbes and direct the immune system to destroy them, pose a significant barrier to successful transplantation. Rejection of a transplant occurs in instances where the immune system identifies the transplant as foreign, triggering a response that will ultimately destroy the transplanted organ or tissue.

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