The major problem with organ transplantation is that the body’s immune system treats any transplanted organ as if it were an infecting organism and tries to destroy it through the action of white blood cells and antibodies (immune system). An ideal transplant would have tissues identical to those of the organ it replaces. An organ transplant between identical twins, carries no risks of rejection because the tissues of such twins are a perfect match and do not provoke a response from the body’s defense system.

Corneal transplants are another exception. They “take” easily because the cornea has no blood supply and therefore lacks the rejecting weapons of white blood cells and antibodies.

Donated organs are matched as closely as possible to the patient by tissue type but a perfect match is almost impossible. To prevent rejection of a transplanted organ, the body’s immune response must be counterbalanced by treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. Until recently this treatment carried great risks because the drugs had serious, sometimes life threatening side effects and their dosage had to be calculated with a precision that was difficult to achieve. The drugs reduced resistance to infection, tended to encourage the growth of malignant tumors, and sometimes damaged bones and other organs.

However, the development of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin has revolutionized organ transplants. It has so improved the survival rates of patients who have had transplants. The side effects of cyclosporin are less dangerous than those of the immunosuppressive drugs previously used, and its introduction has meant that other immunosuppressives can now be given in much lower doses or in some cases. omitted altogether.

Consequently, many more transplants are now being carried out and as a result, surgical techniques and expertise are continually improving and the success rates are correspondingly higher.

In addition, better methods of preserving and transporting donor organs, so that they arrive quickly and in good condition, have also contributed to the greater success of organ transplants. Moreover the increased publicity given to transplant operations has resulted in greater public awareness of the need for donor organs. The greater availability of donor organs (although there is still a shortage of some organs) also gives surgeons the chance to do a second transplant it the first operation fails, perhaps because the organ is rejected.

A tremendous amount of research has proved that vitamin C is vitally important in overcoming infections, but the use of antibiotics-and greater profits made from their sale. In a single year no less than 45 research projects reported that vitamin C rendered harmless a wide variety of bacterial toxins, and inhibited the growth of whatever bacteria it failed to destroy; that its action was non-specific in that it was deadly to all types of viruses and bacteria; and that while small amounts could bring some immunity, huge doses were much more effective. When large quantities were given to guinea pigs already injected with bacteria, 99 per cent of the body cells showed evidence of bacterial destruction in a single hour.

Multiple protective functions are performed by vitamin C. It not only aids the adrenals, but also stimulates the production of antibodies, white blood cells and the complement, and increases the bacteria-destroying ability of white blood cells. A count of approximately 5,000 white blood cells is considered to be normal. A high white blood count shows that an infection exists and also that the body is fighting it; a low count indicates that the body has no resources with which to fight. When 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C have been taken daily during a cold, the white count has promptly risen from far below normal to 9,000 or more.

Dr. Fred R. Klenner, of Reidsville, North Carolina, has used massive quantities of vitamin C in treating successfully patients of all ages suffering from such serious illnesses as virus pneumonia, encephalitis, meningitis, poliomyelitis, tetanus, or lockjaw, and many other infections. Usually these patients had an extremely high fever, were unconscious, and many had been given up earlier by physicians who believed them to be beyond help; some appeared to be dying, and in one case rigor mortis had actually set in.

Dr. Klenner gave the vitamin by injection in amounts ranging from 2 to 4 grams approximately every two to four hours around the clock to extremely ill patients. Sometimes he gave antibiotics or other medications in addition to vitamin C, although these drugs had usually been given by other physicians before the patients had become so desperately ill. An amazing number of these persons regained consciousness quickly, were able to drink juices within a few hours, took further vitamin C by mouth, and were discharged from the hospital in three or four days.

The vitamin C is more effective when given with some form of calcium. The amount of vitamin C required varies with the seriousness of the illness. Because viruses and bacteria not destroyed quickly multiply, bringing a recurrence of symptoms, and because this vitamin C is not toxic, it is better to err by taking too much rather than too little. The ascorbic acid in proper doses can save countless individuals once physicians awaken to the real value of that vitamin.

Other doctors have shown that massive amounts of vitamin C compare favorably with antibiotics, but have no toxic effects; and that the vitamin was particularly helpful in speeding recovery from mononucleosis and infectious hepatitis even after all medication had proved futile. Hundreds of persons made remarkable recoveries after taking large amounts of vitamin C.