Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Isograft
Introduction
Overview
An Isograft is a graft of tissue between two individuals who are genetically identical (i.e. monozygotic twins). Transplant rejection between two such individuals virtually never occurs.
As monozygotic twins have the same major histocompatibility complex, there is very rarely any rejection of transplanted tissue by the adaptive immune system. Furthermore, there is virtually no incidence of graft-versus-host disease. This forms the basis for why the proffered choice of a physician considering an organ donor will be a monozygotic twin.