DLM- April 9: 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:

If an individual goes into rejection, do they need another transplant?

Answer:

Rejection does not necessarily mean the individual will lose the organ. While the risk of rejection decreases as time goes on, it never goes away. Every transplant recipient will go into some degree of rejection at some point in their life. Frequent monitoring via blood draws, ultrasounds, biopsies or clinic visits help transplant teams identify rejection early and more often than not, treat it with medication.

There are two categories of rejection: acute and chronic.

1. Acute rejection typically happens within the first 6 months after transplant. Most patients have a rejection episode in the first year post-transplant.

2. Chronic rejection occurs slowly over time and begins to damage the organ resulting in a potential need for a new graft (transplanted organ).

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