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Signs & Symptoms That Your Body is Rejecting Your Transplanted Kidney or Heart

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A person living with a transplanted organ can live a healthy and normal life.

However, to increase your chances of long-term success, experts say that immunosuppressants (anti-rejection medications) must be taken every day as directed.1

“A transplanted organ is seen as a foreign object—or an ‘unwelcome visitor’—by your body,” says Nikhil Agrawal, MD, a nephrologist with Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston. “That is why your body’s immune system works hard to react against—or ‘reject’—the transplanted organ. Immunosuppressants suppress your body’s immune system and prevent rejection.”

The signs and symptoms of rejection could differ based on your transplanted organ. Below are a few things to look out for if you are a kidney- or heart-transplant recipient.

Read the full article, here.

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Getting Important Blood Draws from Home—All Your Questions Answered About RemoTraC™ 

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Before COVID-19, most kidney- and heart-transplant recipients got their weekly or monthly blood tests at the hospital or a local blood-draw center. When COVID-19 touched down, however, hospitals became places where exposure to the coronavirus was higher.

Patients who are on immunosuppression—such as transplant recipients—are likely to be at a higher risk of severe infection and associated complications of COVID-19.1 Therefore, it is critical that transplant recipients have routine access to their transplant-lab testing in environments that limit their exposure to the coronavirus.

How do you solve such a dilemma?

Since March 2020, over 5,000 transplant recipients have turned to RemoTraC.

Learn more about RemoTraC, here.

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Tips for Controlling Your Blood Pressure if You Live with a Transplant

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Part of the function of the kidney is to help you regulate blood pressure.

High blood pressure—known as hypertension—can be common both before and after a kidney or heart transplant.

Between 50 and 80% of adults—and 47 to 82% of kids—living with a transplanted kidney have high blood-pressure levels.1  Culprits that stimulate elevations in blood-pressure level include:

  • Anti-rejection drugs
  • Obesity
  • Salt intake
  • Smoking
  • Alcohol consumption2

Read the full article, here.

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Supporting Strong Mental Health: Managing Chronic Conditions (Parts 1-3)

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“For the more than 60% of Americans with chronic disease, staying mentally and physically healthy during COVID-19 has been a challenge – especially for the kidney and transplant community. The National Kidney Foundation’s Kelli Collins, advocate and patient Valen Keefer and Paul Gionfriddo, CEO of Mental Health America share their insights and resources to help others with chronic disease focus on mental health.”

Watch all three parts of the series, here.

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New Guidelines Address Diabetes Management in Kidney Disease

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“A new guideline from the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) group addressing issues around diabetes management in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has just been published in synopsis form in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The full guideline, including 12 recommendations and 48 practice points for clinicians caring for patients with diabetes and CKD, was published last month in Kidney International and on the KDIGO website.

More than 40% of people with diabetes develop CKD, and a significant number develop kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant. This is the first guidance from KDIGO to address the comorbidity.”

Read more, here.

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10 Tips to Maintain Long-Term Health After Kidney Transplant

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“Receiving a kidney transplant is receiving a second chance at life, or even a third or fourth. But that doesn’t mean the work is done. A common misconception is that a transplant is a cure or fix-all. The reality, however, is that a kidney transplant is just another treatment option. So, while the days of dialysis may be over, patients must remain vigilant as they learn their new daily regimen in order to maintain long-term success with their new gift.”

Read all ten tips, here.

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Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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“Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.”

You can read all the recent updates and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on traveling during COVID-19, here.

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