There are many precautions that take place before the transplant. However, even when the organs are extremely good matches, after the new organ is in place there is potential for something called rejection. This happens when the recipientâs immune system notices that the new organ is foreign and attacks the new graft. Look at the page that describes this for more information. Transplant recipients therefore take different medications (click to see the page on drugs) to prevent these negative immune reactions from taking place. These medications are called immunosuppressants, because they supress the recipientâs immune system enough to allow the new organ to take root in the new host. |