The Transplantation of the Mammalian Kidney

For many years the idea of transplantation has engaged scientific minds. Perhaps the most publicized experiments in this field were testicular implantations in the human, the so-called "monkey gland" operations. To quote Markowitz (12) "This sensational charlatanry has served to discredit the field of organ transplantation in the eyes of the scientific world. " The true picture of transplantation would seem to be as follows Organs transplanted in the same animal (autotransplant) survive for as long as nine months, according to Williamson (17), and perhaps is able to survive indefinitely. If an organ is transplanted by vascular anastomosis from one animal to another (homo- transplant), it will survive for varying periods, averaging four to six days only. However, from time to time varying reports as to the efficacy of the homotransplantation of organs has appeared in the literature These reports range from those which deal with organs in which function has never been evident, to those which have reportedly functioned perfectly up to ninety days. When the original work on the transplantation of mammalian kidneys was done, the sulphonamides and antibiotics were not available. It was therefore decided., in this series of experiments, to determine, if possible, the effect of penicillin upon the longevity of the transplant, since infection is almost impossible to prevent by surgical asepsis.