The question is not idle. Moreover, in the case of any operation, associated with a blood transfusion or organ transplant, this topic becomes what is called vital. And if the donor had cancer? Is it dangerous to use such material in traumatology and transplantology? That’s what oncologists say. Question follows divided into two parts: transplantation of possibly “infected” organs and blood transfusion, possibly containing metastases. Since the last and let’s start. 
Photo from open sources Transfer of cancer from a blood donor to the recipient is highly unlikely (illustration Adventtr / iStockphoto). According to scientists from the Research Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (Australia), blood transfusion donor cancer patient to recipient may entail transmission cancer only in case of compromised the immune system. This applies to HIV-infected, very sick people, as well as patients forced for one reason or another take immunosuppressants, for example, after an organ transplant. At a person with a healthy immune system cancer transmission with blood does not happen. Fortunately, these words are backed up numerous studies. So, for example, in one of them there were 300 thousand samples of donated blood were studied, 12 thousand of which contained a detectable level of cancer cells (i.e. the donor is almost probably suffered from oncology, but he himself might not have known about it). Survey of the majority of recipients who received “substandard” blood, no increased risk of cancer not revealed. All of this is consistent with what we know about immune system reactions to foreign cells. During transfusion doctors strictly monitor the coincidence of the blood group of the donor and recipient (A, B, AB and O). As a result, the immune system does not notices red blood cells protected by the right antigens, but cancer cells that carry unique to the donor proteins fall into the category of alien and are immediately destroyed no chance of luck. Still, blood banks are trying to identify and screen out donors with possible cancer problems – on just in case. If the patient’s immune system is severely weakened, e.g. due to illness or surgery organ transplant, then he can’t count on protection (here to you and “just in case”). Cancer can easily take root on a new location. When transplanting organs such as a liver or kidney, things much worse (again remember that in such situations the patient firmly “sits” on immunosuppressants). Medicine more than once recorded cases of involuntary transmission of cancer. One thing is good: the organs assigned to the transplant undergo a thorough control for the content of malignant cells. Therefore the probability in this way does not exceed 0.015% (in developed countries). We also mention the existence of evidence that cancer can be transmitted from mother to her unborn child. But this, fortunately, it happens very rarely (the same protection principle applies the body of the child’s immune system, but there are failures, since the baby’s immune system is relatively tolerant to foreign cells, and cancer can be aggressive, more that during pregnancy, treatment is not possible). For instance, according to literary data, only in Australia in 2003 was 14 cases of transmission of cancer from mother to child (up to to match the type of cancer, including leukocytosis, melanoma, lung cancer and a variety of sarcomas). Prepared by ABC Science materials.
Australia Oncology
