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Researchers discover test for earlier detection of transplant rejection

March 23, 2017

Approximately 30,000 organ transplants occur in the United States each year. However, between 20 and 50 percent – depending on the organ type – of the transplanted organs fail within five years, most often because the recipient’s immune system attacks, or “rejects,” the donated organ.

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a method that appears to provide earlier warning of organ transplant rejection compared to standard methods, and requires only a blood test rather than a more invasive and painful needle biopsy. This new method is detailed in a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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