Question

If any organ fails to function satisfactorily, transplantation is the only remedy to enable the patient to live a normal life.

All of the following are true w.r.t. transplantation except -

• A. Tissue matching is essential before undertaking any graft.
• B. T-lymphocytes play an important role in graft rejection.
• C. Patient takes immuno-suppressants for first few weeks only after transplantation.
• D. Blood group matching is important before transplantation.

Hint:

Immuno-suppressant drugs must be taken for a very long time, usually for life, after a transplant.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understand the question:
We must find the statement that is NOT true about organ transplantation.
Rejection of a graft is a cell-mediated immune response, and the body must be stopped from attacking the new organ.

Step 2: Check statement (A):
Before a graft, the tissue type (HLA type) of donor and recipient is matched as closely as possible. This lowers the chance of rejection. So (A) is TRUE.

Step 3: Check statement (B):
T-lymphocytes recognise the graft as foreign and destroy it. This is why rejection is called cell-mediated immunity. So (B) is TRUE.

Step 4: Check statement (C):
Even after good matching, the patient needs immuno-suppressant drugs such as cyclosporin for life, or as long as the graft is in place.
The drugs are not stopped after a few weeks, because the immune system would then attack the organ. So (C) is FALSE.

Step 5: Check statement (D):
Blood group (ABO) compatibility is checked before a transplant, just as in a transfusion. So (D) is TRUE.

Final Answer:
Statement (C) is not true, so it is the exception. The answer is option (C).