What are short-term complications of an organ transplant?
Short-term complications of an organ transplant include:
- Rejection: The recipient's immune system may attack the transplanted organ, seeing it as foreign tissue. This can lead to organ damage and failure.
- Infection: The recipient is at an increased risk of infection due to the immunosuppressive drugs that are used to prevent rejection.
- Bleeding: Bleeding can occur during or after surgery, or from the transplanted organ itself.
- Blood clots: Blood clots can form in the transplanted organ or in the blood vessels leading to or from the organ.
- Fluid build-up: Fluid can build up around the transplanted organ, causing swelling and pain.
- Nerve damage: The nerves surrounding the transplanted organ can be damaged during surgery, leading to pain, numbness, or paralysis.
- Death: In some cases, the short-term complications of an organ transplant can lead to death.