any antigen on the surface of tissue or blood cells that provokes the immune response and subsequent rejection when transplanted to an individual of a different antigenic type, thus determining whether the tissues or organs of a donor and recipient are histocompatible.
British Dictionary definitions for histocompatibility antigen
histocompatibility antigen
noun
a molecule occurring on the surface of tissue cells that can take several different forms. The differences between histocompatibility antigens are inherited and determine organ transplant rejection
Any of various antigens on the surface of cell membranes that serve to identify a cell as self or nonself and are used to determine whether a tissue graft or transfusion will be accepted by a recipient.
