Final answer:
Immune suppressor drugs are necessary for organ transplant recipients to prevent their immune system from rejecting the new organ. Cyclosporine A is one such medication that suppresses the immune response, but there must be a balance to avoid weakening the immune system excessively.
Step-by-step explanation:
Patients who receive organ transplants need immune suppressor drugs because their immune system recognizes the new organ as a foreign body and tries to reject it. The drug cyclosporine, among others, is used to suppress this immune response by inhibiting the production of interleukin. This cytokine is involved in the activation of T cells, which are key in the rejection process.
After an organ transplant, achieving immune suppression is crucial to prevent organ rejection, where the body’s defense system attacks the new organ. The closer the genetic match between donor and recipient, the lesser the chance of rejection, which is why blood relatives are often preferred as donors due to similarities in MHC (HLA) molecules. Nevertheless, even with good genetic matching, immunosuppressive therapy is typically required to avoid rejection.
Graft-versus-host disease can also occur in cases such as bone marrow transplants, further complicating the post-transplant recovery. Immunosuppressive drugs like cyclosporine A are important to increase the success rate of transplants, but they must be balanced against the risk of weakening the immune system too much, making it hard for the body to fight infections or prevent cancer.