How many transplants are rejected

In the case of transplants, we must trick the immune system into tolerating a foreign object in the body. While tissue rejection is quite uncommon, there is still a low risk of rejection when it comes to organ transplants.

Luckily, there are many different ways that healthcare teams and patients can decrease the risk of rejection both before and after an organ transplant. Organ rejection can be classified in one of two ways: acute rejection and chronic rejection.

You should take your immunosuppressants and other medicines exactly the way your doctor tells you to. If you miss taking your medicine even one time, you could risk losing your new kidney. If you ever miss taking your medicine, call your doctor right away. Anti-rejection medicines also come with risks and side effects. One of the biggest side effects of immunosuppressants is infection.

You are more at risk for getting infections because the immunosuppressants decrease the strength of your immune system. Another common side effect of immunosuppressants is stomach upset. Talk to your doctor about your side effects, and you may be able to change the amount of the medicine that you take, or switch to a different medicine if needed.

Even though they cause side effects, immunosuppressants are very necessary drugs. They are responsible for keeping your new kidney healthy and working. You do not have to deal with these feelings alone. Getting a kidney transplant is a major life change, and it is normal to feel stressed and anxious about big life changes.

Reach out to your family and friends for support. Also, let your transplant team know about your emotional changes so they can help support you and adjust your medicines if needed.

Your transplant team can also refer you to a mental health specialist. The chance of rejecting your new kidney decreases with time, but rejection can occur at any time after transplant. Most rejection episodes do not have symptoms and are usually picked up through routine bloodwork. However, if symptoms do occur, the most common signs of rejection are:. There are other signs of rejection that can only be detected by routine blood testing. This is why we frequently draw blood during your hospitalization and at your follow-up clinic visits.

Bacteria and viruses are examples of foreign organisms that the immune system destroys. To prevent the immune system from damaging the transplanted kidney, you will take immunosuppressive anti-rejection drugs.

It is very important to take your medications every day, exactly as prescribed. A sudden decline in kidney transplant function due to injury caused by the immune system can occur in spite of taking these medications.

The only way to diagnose acute rejection is to perform a renal biopsy. Under local anesthesia, a small fragment of your kidney is removed with a needle and examined under a microscope. A pathologist will determine whether rejection is present.