50-Year Mystery Solved: Researchers Open “Black Box” of Stem Cell Transplants

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Excerpt

For the first time, scientists have traced the long-term fate of stem cells decades after a transplant, unveiling insights into a medical procedure that has remained a mystery for more than 50 years.

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Insights could pave the way for new strategies in donor selection and transplant success, potentially leading to safer, more effective transplants.

Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators at the University of Zurich were able to map the behavior of stem cells in recipients’ bodies up to three decades post-transplant, providing the first-ever glimpse into the long-term dynamics of these cells.

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The study, published in Nature and part-funded by Cancer Research UK, reveals that transplants from older donors, which are often less successful, have ten times fewer vital stem cells surviving the transplant process. Some of the surviving cells also lose the ability to produce the range of blood cells essential for a robust immune system.