Compatibility and rejection
Wed, Dec 16, 2026 · Week 17 · Genetics of Disease (Medical Interventions)
Today's goal: Build a compatibility table and explain how immunosuppression manages rejection.
This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.
Recipient: patient M. Donors ranked best to worst by HLA match:
- Donor 2: 6 of 6 match, crossmatch negative = rank 1 (best)
- Donor 1: 4 of 6 match, crossmatch negative = rank 2
- Donor 3: 2 of 6 match, crossmatch weak positive = rank 3 (worst)
Why a poor match is attacked (my words): Immune cells read the HLA markers on the donor kidney. When too many markers look foreign, T cells and antibodies treat the organ like an invader and attack its blood vessels and cells, which is rejection.
Immunosuppression:
- Benefit: The drugs calm the immune attack so even a good-but-not-perfect match can survive and keep filtering.
- Risk: A dialed-down immune system fights infections and some cancers less well, so the patient is more vulnerable to getting sick.
(Tip: a higher match number plus a negative crossmatch is what you want; ranking is not just the match count, the crossmatch can overrule it.)
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Builds a table ranking candidate donors for one recipient by HLA match score, then explains in the student's own words why a poorly matched organ is attacked and gives one benefit and one risk of immunosuppression.
- Name the variables and include units.
- Enter observations without changing the raw values.
- Check labels, calculations, and patterns before interpreting the data.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: turns in the compatibility table on Schoology under today's data-table assignment.
Turn in: Donor compatibility ranking and rejection note
Go to Schoology to turn this in.
Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.
Open Schoology PDF upload helpIf you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about today's lesson. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.
Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.
It builds this reusable test skill: Explaining rejection and the trade-offs of immunosuppression.
- Name the concept or data pattern being tested.
- Cross out choices that violate that rule or the evidence.
- Justify the best remaining choice before checking the answer.