DLM: April 8 - Question of the Day

Throughout the month of April, we will be answering all questions around organ donation & transplants. The goal is to spread knowledge & facts while inspiring others to have conversations and register as organ & tissue donors.

Question:

Will a transplant recipient be on anti-rejection medicine(s) for the rest of their life?

Answer:

The short answer is YES.

What WILL change over the course of a transplant recipient’s life is the dosage of their anti-rejection medications and their “target range."

What do I mean by this?

Doctors aim to have the immunosuppression medication at a certain level in your body based on the recipient’s likelihood to go into rejection. The factors that determine a recipient’s rejection likelihood are things like time post-transplant, if they have gone into rejection before, medical history, lifestyle, etc… Typically, the highest dose of immunosuppression is given immediately after transplant and will slowly decrease over the following months/years until the recipient phases into the ‘maintenance phase. For example, Hudson’s anti-rejection target range immediately after transplant and for the following months was 10-12. Currently, his anti-rejection target is 3.

If there are any questions you have about donation, transplantation, Hudson, or our family, please do not hesitate to email or message me. We are using this month to be as transparent and open as possible so don't be shy about your questions! Who knows, someone might have the same question you do!

xoxo,

Jordan, Morgan, Hudson, Dude & Jax