What Is Responsible for Liver Transplant Rejection?

Rejection of a newly transplanted liver is not uncommon and need not end in failure of the organ if treated promptly. It is natural for the body to reject an organ it recognizes as foreign, as is the case with a donated liver.

Mechanics of Rejection

• The body's immune system recognizes the presence of foreign tissue and dispatches antibodies to attack and destroy the alien substance.

Fighting Back

• To prevent or moderate this rejection response, transplant patients are routinely given immunosuppressive drugs. Rejection, in and of itself, is not final and can usually be treated.

Types of Rejection

• The three main types of rejection are: hyperacute, which happens almost immediately after the transplant and requires immediate removal of the organ; acute, which may occur multiple times in the first months after transplant but is treatable; and chronic, which consists of continuing attacks on the organ, often resulting in compromised function.

Incidence of Rejection

• Ignazio Marino, a transplant surgeon at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, says rejection occurs in roughly 40 percent of all liver transplants.

Two Drugs Cut Rejection Sharply

• Marino reports that the use of the anti-rejection drugs tacrolimus and basiliximab cuts the incidence of rejection to about 12 percent.