In a traditional hair transplant, a patients’ own hair is moved from the back and sides of the scalp to the area of hair thinning. The amount of coverage is limited if the patient does not have enough donor hair. In a new study, it now seems possible that you can use another persons’ hair and transplant it into your own scalp.
There have been new findings showing that hair transplants using another person’s hair may actually be possible. This can increase the number of people who could qualify for hair restoration procedures. Hair transplantation has historically been at the mercy of genetics as candidacy for a hair transplant has been limited by the amount of permanent hair a person has on his scalp.
This new study shows that it may be possible to escape the limitations of one’s own hair using your friend’s follicles. This research is being carried out by Professor Kwon Oh-sang and his team from Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea. This study, done on mice, removed cells responsible for the immune rejection that can happen during hair transplants from other people. These mice grew new black hair, identical to that of the donor area. These hairs survived longer than six months without being rejected from the body.
Though this procedure is not yet ready for human use, the findings push us closer to the allusive goal of “allogeneic hair transplantation” which might allow all patients to become potential candidates for surgery without being limited by their own donor hair supply.
