graft

In medicine, a piece of tissue that has been removed from one person and implanted either in another person or elsewhere on the same individual, to remedy a defect in that tissue. Skin grafts, for example, are used to treat patients with substantial burns. The skin is taken from an area of the body that has not been affected by the burn. An organ graft is often referred to as a transplant.

Vein grafts can be used to replace parts of arteries in the heart and the lower limbs that have become blocked. Bone marrow grafting involves the transfusion of bone marrow from an unaffected individual to treat a patient with a haematological malignancy. Advances in chemotherapy have allowed the development of autologous bone marrow transplantation.

In the USA more than 1,200,000 skin grafts are required annually (1999), mostly for the treatment of diabetic ulcers and to replace skin removed during cancer treatment.

By 1997 two artificial skin products had been approved for use as skin grafts following third degree burns, by the US Food and Drug Administration. One is a porous matrix constructed from bovine collagen and a derivative of shark cartilage, and another is grown from the foreskins of newborns.