What was the primary medical belief regarding transplant organ failure prior to the mid-20th century?
Answer
Rejection was viewed as a technical surgical failure
For decades, the medical community incorrectly assumed that when a transplant failed, it was because the surgeon had failed to properly connect the vessels or manage the post-operative recovery correctly. The idea that the body possessed a sophisticated immune system capable of actively attacking foreign tissue had not yet been identified or accepted. It took the research of figures like Peter Medawar to shift this paradigm, proving that rejection was an immunological process rather than a result of poor surgical technique.
#Videos
Dr. Starzl - "Father of Transplantation" Interview - Part 1 - YouTube
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