Heart and kidney transplantation using total lymphoid irradiation and donor bone marrow in mongrel dogs

Heart and kideny allografts showed markedly prolonged survival in unrelated mongrel dogs following total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and donor bone marrow without any other immunosuppression. In every animal the heart survived longer than the kidney; genetic disparity was ruled out, since the heart and kidney from the same donor were placed into one recipient. Placing the kidney allograft in the abdomen with the bone marrow given intraperitoneally doubled kidney survival over placement in the neck, but heart survival was equally prolonged in the abdomen or neck. Splenectomy before TLI or after TLI, but just before transplantation, almost completely eliminated the prolonged survival of both heart and kidney allografts. Thus there is suggestive evidence from the work of Slavin and his colleagues and from our study that TLI plus bone marrow from the donor may be valuable for transplantation in man, particularly heart transplantation.