Thymus Transplantation

Thymus transplantation is a form of organ transplantation in which thymus tissue is moved from one person to another to restore immune function in a patient who lacks an adequate thymus gland. It is used mainly to treat infants with complete DiGeorge syndrome, a rare form of DiGeorge anomaly affecting fewer than one percent of DiGeorge patients in which the thymus is entirely absent and the child cannot mount a normal T-cell immune response, as well as related conditions such as Nezelof syndrome and Foxn1 deficiency. In a study following 54 infants who received thymus transplants, all developed a functional set of T cells and about 75 percent survived over 13 years of follow-up; more recent work has explored transplanting thymic tissue alongside other organs, such as the heart, to improve the recipient's tolerance of the graft.