Can breast tissue be donated?

Often I am asked:  why can't breast tissue be donated to others like blood is?


Breast tissue could only be donated to someone who is genetically identical otherwise rejection would destroy the tissue and could be dangerous for the recipient.

Blood can be only be donated within some "compatible" types that allow for a brief permanence of the donated cells until they are replaced by the recipient's own cells.


There are so many ways to increase breast size that the risks associated with this kind of "transplant" make it not worth the trouble.

Hello and thank you for the question.

Tissue transfer from one person to another requires immunosuppression. These are medications that mask or diminish the natural response of your body to foreign tissue, much in the same way that your body wards off abnormal cancer cells.  Immunosuppression comes with many of its own inherenent risks, including decreasing the body's inherent ability to defent against infection and cancer cells, among other things. 

In general, there are much better alternatives to augmenting the breasts than using someone elses tissues. The gold standard being, of course, augmentation mammoplasty with implants.  More recently, auto-augmentation with one's own fat has been gaining popularity, although this procedure requires further investigation to assure its safety.

Kindest Regards,

Glenn Vallecillos, M.D., F.A.C.S. 

Hello,

Many women have offered to donate their abundant breast tissue to the needy, however, it is not that easy.  First the tissue compatibility is difficult without many immunosuppresent drugs.  Second, some of the scaring and calcification's may make mammography difficult to read.  And third there are safe ways to augment a breast that are FDA approved, and chosen first.  Hope this helps.

The reason breast tissue is not transplanted is that it would 1) require immunosupression and 2) there are many other ways to create a different breast shape and/or size.

Best,

Talmage J. Raine MD FACS