Therapeutic Technique

Graft Enhancement, Immunologic

The induction of prolonged survival and growth of allografts of either tumors or normal tissues which would ordinarily be rejected. It may be induced passively by introducing graft-specific antibodies from previously immunized donors, which bind to the graft's surface antigens, masking them from recognition by T-cells; or actively by prior immunization of the recipient with graft antigens which evoke specific antibodies and form antigen-antibody complexes which bind to the antigen receptor sites of the T-cells and block their cytotoxic activity.