DLM - April 11: 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 anti-rejection medication suppresses an individual's immune system, do they have to take immune boosters?
Answer:
It's an interesting concept to wrap your head around...
A person has a weakened immune system so it seems almost common sense to increase immune boosting supplements such as Vitamin C, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. A transplant recipient does not want their immune system to be strong and healthy. A strong and healthy immune system will recognize the foreign organ in the body and try to attack & destroy it, causing the recipient to go into rejection.
Because a transplant recipient's immune system is suppressed, they are more vulnerable to things that a healthy immune system is trained to fight off. This includes, viruses (like EBV and CMV), bacteria (like strep) & fungus (like Candida).
The same concept also applies to a transplant recipient's ability to create strong antibodies against things like the flu, a cold or more serious illnesses such as measles or the chicken pox. This means that a recipient could potentially continue to get the same virus, even after already having it (because their body did not create the strong antibodies to fight it off).
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