Rejection

This happens when your body's immune system thinks your new organ is "foreign" and attempts to destroy it. You will take immunosuppressive medications for the rest of your life to prevent rejection.

There are several types of rejection:

Hyperacute rejection - happens when the body immediately destroys the new kidney, this is rare because of the crossmatch testing used before transplant.

Acute rejection - although this can happen at any time after the transplant, most often it happens during the first several months. This can be treated by giving you higher doses of medication by mouth or by intravenous infusion. You may get this treatment as an outpatient if it is recognized early.

Chronic rejection - this may happen months or years after the transplant. This type of rejection is resistant to treatment with current medications. This will cause your new organ to slowly stop working.

Diabetes
The term diabetes means that your blood sugar levels are too high. This can be caused by some of the medications you are taking for your transplant, such as Prednisone, Prograf®, and/or Cyclosporine. You may need to start taking insulin or increase your dose to help control your blood sugar.

Acute Tubular Necrosis (ATN)
This is a condition when the kidney doesn't work right away after transplant. ATN is usually temporary. It can be caused by a long organ storage time on ice before transplant or by medications. The symptoms are treated in two ways: 1) By limiting the salt, protein, potassium in your diet, and fluid intake, or by dialysis. 2) The transplant team will look at the lab results, your weight, your limiting fluid intake, urine output, and vital signs to decide which treatment you will need.