QUESTION: What is the reason that hair cannot be taken from another donor? I know that for organ transplants, recipients take anti-rejection drugs. Are similar drugs available that could be useful for hair transplants?
ANSWER: For any organ transplant, including hair, the genetics must be a perfect match in order for the body to accept the new organ, which is why patients are required to take drugs that stop the body from rejecting the genetically ‘imperfect’ and foreign organ. These drugs, used to inhibit organ rejection for the heart or the kidney, are dangerous and can have severe side effects. The patients who require these transplants, however, are often in life-or-death situations, so the drugs are a feasible solution. Hair loss, unlike heart failure, however, does not pose a life-threatening situation, so these drugs are not an option. Hair transplanted from another person will definitely be rejected.
