Final answer:
All donors must undergo a physical examination to ensure safety and compatibility of the transplant. Matching donors for factors like HLAs and ABO compatibility is critical to minimize rejection and GVHD. Option d.
Step-by-step explanation:
A physical examination should be performed on all donors, regardless of whether they are donating cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, skin tissue, or another type of tissue. The importance of a thorough physical examination is to ensure the safety and compatibility of the donated tissue for the recipient and to minimize the risks associated with transplantation such as tissue rejection, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and the transfer of communicable diseases.
For individuals requiring a transplant, a matching donor is essential to prevent the immune system from destroying the donor cells—a phenomenon known as tissue rejection. In the case of bone marrow transplants, the patient's diseased marrow is destroyed through radiation or chemotherapy before donor bone marrow stem cells are intravenously infused. These stem cells then establish themselves in the recipient’s marrow, a process that requires careful donor-recipient matching, particularly of human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) to minimize the risk of GVHD.
The compatibility of the donor and recipient is critical, with factors such as blood ABO compatibility and genetic similarities at MHC (HLA) genes playing significant roles. Patients receiving transplants typically require immunosuppressive therapy to prevent rejection, even when there is a good genetic match, emphasizing the crucial nature of pre-transplant screenings and examinations.