autologous

Autologous is a concept that is formed with the compositional element car- (what does it mean "by oneself" or "own self") and the ending of the word counterpart (which refers to what has homology; that is, a correspondence link with something or someone). The origin of the notion can be associated with the English word autologous.

The idea of ​​autologous is used in the field of medicine to qualify what is obtained from the same person who receives it. Usually the term appears when a single subject is the donor and, at the same time, the recipient of a given medical procedure or treatment.

A autologous transplant, also know as autotransplantation, implies that a extraction of a graft and its subsequent implantation in the same subject. This type of intervention offers the advantage that no rejections occurAlthough the surgical part is usually complex and immunological problems can also be registered.

Take the case of autologous transplants of cells mother. As we have already explained, in this case the patient who receives the transplant is the donor himself, unlike what happens with an allogeneic or allogeneic transplant, where the stem cells are provided by someone else.

The autologous bone marrow transplants they are used to treat aplastic anemia, lymphomas, and leukemias. Stem cells are collected by aphérisis or from the bone marrow and, after the application of chemotherapy, they are reimplanted.

The autologous serum, on the other hand, it is a biological preparation used by ophthalmology. The patient undergoes an extraction of blood, which is centrifuged to obtain the autologous serum, which is then diluted before use.