The density of hair on these patients' heads is not commensurate with the number of grafts they supposedly got. The best hope a patient has of getting what he pays for in a hair transplant is to learn to calculate the number of grafts he needs to cover his balding area. If the surgeon he sees is not in that ballpark, it may be wiser to look for another surgeon. Certain types of auto-immune diseases, such as alopecia areata can now be treated by means of hair transplant techniques by using the donor strip method. Yet, in the future, hair cloning will make hair transplant easier for these people who often have very little hair to use for grafts. Some people believe that hair transplant grafts using cloned hair would be about the same cost as the usual hair transplants that are available today. A new strip of donor tissue has to be taken each time to supply the grafts for the new transplant. It would seem that this would lead to a large number of scars on the back and sides of the head. Actually, there is a hair transplant procedure that keeps the scarring to one thin line. It consists of cutting the new thin donor strip immediately above the original scar. You will get some good advice if you go to certain associations for assistance. The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons will give you information on surgeons that are affiliated with them. The American Academy of Dermatology is another fine institution that has data on hair transplant surgeons. The normal hair transplant procedure will cost differently depending on the number of grafts even though the cost per graft goes down the more grafts you have. For example, 100 grafts may cost you $1500, while 3000 grafts may cost about $12,000. The price per graft goes down, but the amount of money you have to come up with soars. If this is the case, your surgeon will know what to expect. Then, he can take "bald-proof" hair from the sides and back of your head as donor hair and perform the hair transplant. If you have lost your hair because of some kind of trauma or burns, you will also make a good candidate for hair transplant surgery.