About Anti-Rejection Drugs

Anti-rejection drugs, or immunosuppressants, are given to the vast majority of transplant patients. Having to take these drugs is life altering for many transplant patients. For most transplant patients, the benefit of living outweighs the lifestyle change and even the risk factors associated with these drugs. New discoveries and advances are constantly being made to reduce the risks associated with these drugs.

The Facts

• After an organ transplant, most recipients are prescribed a medicine regime that is centered on an anti-rejection drug. Often, the patient will have to take other medications also. Among these are blood pressure medicines, diuretics and anti-fungal medications. For most people, taking medicine is something that they may forget. This isn't a possibility for transplant recipients. Forgetting to take even one dose of any medicine or altering the time it is taken can have dire consequences.

Function

• Organ rejection is caused when the recipient's body recognizes the new organ as a foreign body. After a patient has an organ transplant, he is often given anti-rejection drugs. These lessen the possibility of his body rejecting the organ by suppressing his immune system. While a patient is adjusting to these drugs, he is usually kept in a sterile environment because he is more susceptible to germs. During this time, even a cold can be deadly.

Misconceptions

• Some people believe that every transplant patient is destined to live a life scheduled around an anti-rejection drug regime. This is not true. Scientists at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have found a pattern of gene expression in some patients that have had successful transplants without using anti-rejection drugs. This means that transplant patients who have this pattern of gene expression probably won't need anti-rejection drugs. For patients already on the drugs, weaning them off is a possibility.

Benefits

• Anti-rejection drugs increase the chance of a recipient's body accepting the transplanted organ so she can live longer than she would have been able to without the new organ. While these drugs do have a lot of risks, there are some surprising benefits to taking them. For instance, people who are taking anti-rejection drugs are less likely to suffer from Huntington's disease and certain types of autoimmune diseases.

Risk Factors

• Anti-rejection drugs are fairly safe if they are taken for a short period of time. This, however, is hardly ever the case. Anti-rejection drugs may cause serious medical conditions, such as diabetes and cancer, if they are taken for a prolonged period. In some cases, doctors reduce the dosage or frequency to lessen the chance of this happening. Another risk is infection. Some patients may develop an infection in a major organ, such as the heart. Hospitalization is often required to fight the infection.