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ABSTRACT
Transplantation is the most spectacular success of medicine in the XX century. Transplantation became the effective and standard method of treatment of end-stage organ failure. It enable not only improvement of the quality of life, but prolong survival as well. How it was a long history dating back into the ancient times. Development of clinical transplantation was possible owing to the enormous progress in surgical techniques, invention of vascular anastomoses, knowledge of immunological mechanisms underlying tolerance and rejection processes, development of immunosuppressive therapy and multidisciplinary cooperation. We learnt about the new techniques of assessment of HLA matching, preservation of retrieved organs, new immunosuppressive regimens, more efficient antirejection therapy and prophylaxis of complications, mainly infections. The future should bring the further development of clinical transplantation, however we should be aware of new challenges as xenotransplantation, stem cells or tissue cultures or even development of artificial organs cultured in the laboratories using human cells and tissues.
Key words: transplantation, pioneer, history
Organ transplantation has revolutionized medicine, it gave an opportunity not only to improve the quality of life, but also extended the life of many patients. However, for it to happen, transplantology has come a long way. Its history dates back to ancient times.
The first mention of the attempts to transplant various parts of the body comes from China, among others. Under anaesthesia induced by strong wine, Chinese surgeon Tsin Yue-Jen (407310 BC) performed heart transplantation in a soldier using the organ, which had been collected from another soldier; surgeon Hua-To (136-206 BC) grafted various abdominal organs under herbal anaesthesia. In ancient Egypt and India, skin grafts were applied for various deformities of the nose or face. Descriptions of autologous skin transplantation within the face can be found in the books of the Hindu (Sushruta, 600 BC) [1].
Christ was among the first people of our era who performed organ transplantation. On the hill of Gethsemane, he reimplanted the ear of Simon Peter, which had been cut off by a sword, while Saint Mark reimplanted the severed arm of a Roman soldier (Luke 22, 51, John 18, 10). In modern times, Saints Damian and Cosmas, medics from Cilicia, living and practicing in Syria in the third century, transplanted the lower limb due to...