Life After Transplantation
Know Your Pharmacist
Transplant recipients usually need to take an array of medications.
Some will be new medications prescribed after transplant surgery.
Some may be continued from before surgery. Certain medications
may be taken several times a day while others are only taken
on certain days. Transplant team doctors may have to change
medications or adjust dosages every few days or weeks to find
the best combination for maximum benefit and minimum side
effects. In short, managing medications after transplant surgery
can be complex and confusing.
Selecting a good pharmacy and getting to know your pharmacist
can help you understand your medications and manage your medication
schedule. Pharmacists can help explain effects and side effects
of medications. Sometimes they can recommend tools like timers
and organizers to help you keep track of medications. The
social worker at the transplant center should be able to provide
a list of pharmacies to choose from. Pharmacy services and
prices vary. If you are not limited to particular companies
by your insurance, shop around for lower prices and for features
such as home delivery, refill reminders, and ability to speak
with a pharmacist directly by phone or in person. Important
questions to ask your pharmacist about pharmacy services and
about medications are listed at Medications:
Protecting Your Transplant Questions to Ask 
and on page 43 of What
Every Patient Should Know .
Stay Healthy
Even years after surgery, doctors will continue to monitor
the health status of both the transplanted organ and the whole
body. Laboratory tests are a regular part of a transplant
recipient’s life. Understanding the purposes of the
tests can make it easier to follow specific instructions and
get accurate results. Talk to your transplant team about what
ongoing monitoring will be needed, how much can be done at
home, and what will require visits to the transplant center
or other locations.
Immunosuppressant medications that stop the body from rejecting
the transplanted organ are also an important part of life
after transplant surgery. In general, the suppressed immune
system can be slower in defending against germs. Transplant
recipients may be somewhat more vulnerable to infections and
may find it more difficult to recover from certain infections
and illnesses. This is especially true for the first 6 months
after surgery but will remain an ongoing concern. Organ recipients
can protect their health by practicing good prevention to
avoid illness and injury and by seeking treatment early when
illness does occur.
In general, healthy lifestyle options are good choices for
organ recipients as they are for everyone. Following a low-fat
diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding smoking promote the
health of your new organ as well as the rest of your body.
Your doctor and the transplant center dietician can help develop
a plan for healthy diet and appropriate exercise during the
healing process and a transition to normal healthy life afterwards.
Contact Your Donor Family
Sometimes organ recipients want to thank the family of their
donor. Sometimes donor families want to check on the health
and well-being of the person who received an organ from their
loved one. The possibility of this human contact lifts the
process of donation and transplantation above the mechanics
of medicine and surgery and makes it a true sharing of life,
gratitude, and love.
Transplant centers and OPOs are required by law to protect
the confidentiality of donors and recipients. However, they
can arrange for contact between the families when both sides
agree. The process usually begins with a letter from the recipient
to the donor family, sent in care of the transplant center.
Different centers have different procedures, but general guidelines
for the first letter to the donor family are outlined in the
fact sheet, Contacting
Your Donor Family .
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