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Organ rejection prophylaxis

Description

Organ rejection refers to unwillingness of the recipient’s body to accept the transplanted organ.  The recipient’s immune system starts attacking the transplanted organ in an attempt to eliminate it. Organ rejection prophylaxis (medicine given to prevent disease) refers to medicine given before and after the transplantation procedure in order to prevent the recipient’s immune system from attacking the newly transplanted organ.

Causes

All the foreign substances entering a person’s body have a specific protein on their surface known as antigen. The immune system after analyzing these antigens thoroughly concludes if these antigens match the person’s body or are different from the other antigens present in that person’s body. Similarly, when an organ is transplanted into a person’s body, the recipient’s immune system recognizes the antigens present on that organ as foreign bodies and starts attacking the newly transplanted organ in order to eliminate it and protect the recipient’s body from any harm.

Risk factors

Racial difference, gender difference, organ of a deceased donor, repeated organ transplant, different blood group, age of the recipient, primary disease that the recipient is suffering from, blood transfusions and immunization done prior to the process of organ transplantation, and infections with cytomegalovirus are some of the significant risk factors for organ rejection.

Symptoms

Some noticeable symptoms of organ rejection are: impaired function of the transplanted organ, general discomfort, malaise (weakness), fatigue, tenderness (pain) or swelling in the area of the organ that is transplanted, pyrexia (fever) with shivers and chills, body ache, nausea (feeling like vomiting), cough, weight changes, high blood sugar, yellowing of skin, impaired urination, and dyspnea (difficulty in breathing).

Diagnosis

To reach a diagnosis, your doctor will take your thorough medical history, ask about your symptoms, and perform some investigations.

Management

Organ transplant rejection can be managed in the following ways:

  • By administering immunosuppressant medicines (medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight against foreign bodies) before and after the procedure.
  • By making sure that donor and recipient’s blood group is a close match.

  • Close monitoring of recipient’s vital signs and blood glucose levels, cholesterol level, and liver function tests.
When to consult a doctor?

Kindly consult a doctor if your newly transplanted organ is not working properly, your condition is worsening, or if you are experiencing side effects from the medicines.

Available Medicine for Organ rejection prophylaxis

Simulect 20mg

Rs.158172.88

Novartis

Certican 0.25mg

Rs.2052.97

Novartis

Cellcept 500mg

Rs.1481.2

Roche

Myfortic 360mg

Rs.2948.75

Novartis

Myfortic 180 mg

Rs.1325.89

Novartis