Use of the Y-body for identification of skin source on a successfully grafted burn patient

The use of the interphase male Y-body (fluorescent Y chromosome segment) technique with cryostat sections of both fresh and frozen-stored skin biopsies is described. A female burn patient appeared to retain her donor homografts, thereby negating the need for autografts. Since a retained homograft of this sort challenged our understanding of immunologic barriers, we applied the Y-body technique to cutaneous biopsies obtained from the patient's burn area that had been homografted with skin from a male donor, as well as control biopsies from the patient's unburned skin and normal control male and female skin. Based on clinical and cytogenetic observations, it was concluded that the most reasonable explanation for this case was that the regenerating tissue at the graft site was that of the recipient and not that of the originally grafted male skin.