Where do tissue grafts used in surgery come from?

There are many different terms to describe types of transplants. These terms can refer to anything transplanted, such as bone, eyes, or body organs. Allograft transplants are between individuals of the same species (human to human). Autologous transplants are within the same individual. For example, a skin graft can be taken from a person's leg to use on the person's hand. Blood or bone marrow can be stored for later use by that same person.

There are other kinds of grafts. Xenogeneic transplants, sometimes called heterografts, are between individuals of different species. For example, pig skin is often used for people with large burns on their bodies.

Allogeneic transplants come from matched donors, usually siblings. Syngeneic transplants are between genetically identical members of the same species, or identical twins.