Transplant Surgery and the Immune System.

Between 1960 and 1969 numerous advances were made in the field of transplant surgery. In early 1960 the only major transplants performed were those of kidneys from one identical twin to another; surgeons had not yet learned how to suppress the body's natural tendency to reject tissue that is not its own. Each person's body has a unique chemical coding that is basic to the immune system. Body cells are protected by a complex system of protein that rejects foreign matter, including bacteria and viruses. Any matter that is not similar to the body's tissue is rejected (with the exception of some invaders, such as cold viruses). This system of protection also causes the body to reject organ implants from someone else's body.

Advances in the Field.

Several developments during the 1960s revolutionized the field of transplantation. A...