pubmed-article:8879630 | pubmed:abstractText | Fetus-to-fetus transplantation has been suggested for the treatment of hemoglobinopathies in utero. However, dissimilar results have to date been obtained by different groups. We describe a case in which fetus-to-fetus transplantation in HLA-identical twins was performed at the 19th week of gestation by infusion of 0.8 ml of fetal blood from normal to beta-thalassemia affected fetus with the main aim of inducing tolerance. No evidence of engraftment, determined by KM19 polymorphism, was present after 2 years of the procedure. Moreover, an alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursor (CTLp) study of affected fetus vs donor and other different stimulators showed that immunization vs tolerance was the real effect of the procedure. | lld:pubmed |