immunosuppression

Immunosuppression means using drugs to turn down the immune system so it stops attacking a transplanted graft. If immune rejection is an over-zealous security team throwing out a newcomer, immunosuppressive drugs are the order to stand down. They keep the graft alive — but they leave the whole building less guarded.

The drugs blunt the immune cells that would otherwise recognize and destroy the foreign tissue. They are usually taken for as long as the graft is in place, often for life, and the dose is a constant balancing act: enough to protect the graft, not so much that the body is left defenseless.

The cost is real. A dampened immune system fights infections less well and watches less vigilantly for cancer, so these risks rise. That trade-off is exactly why researchers chase immune tolerance — graft acceptance without the lifelong drugs.