New Transplant Blog Posts

Glad it helps! We are each so unique in our bodies and reactions to meds! Your team can work with you for minimal side effects. It can take some time to do all the tweaking. I have the ankle swelling at times, too. No more skinny dancing ankles! Drat!

@rosemarya Thank you very much. Wow, 12 years and going strong, that’s awesome! I’m happy to hear that you are not going through bad side effects. Thanks again for the link for discussion, I wouldn’t want anyone to have side effects, but knowing others do, I don’t feel alone going through this. I will definitely reach out for any suggestions.

@missdi, I am glad that you will be looking at the discussion links that I shared. You might be surprised with how many recipients have side effects of varying degrees along with how they have learned to 'live' with them. I hope that you found some helpful information from the doctor visit.
-Just a thought - When at 5 years post transplant, I was taken off prednisone, and I dicovered that I had asthma (exercise induced). Good thing is that I now know why I have always had a difficult time hiking uphill. I now have a pulmonologist who has prescribed treatment. -
Did you have any underlying digestive issues prior to kidney failure or transplant? Could the medications be causing an upsurge in it?

How is your kidney doing with the complications that you are experiencing?

@rosemarya I had a good conversation with my Dr yesterday. After all the issues she agreed it was too much and has lowered my cyclosporine by half for 2 weeks. If all or most of the complaints don’t go away, she is probably going to put me back on one of the others I ve been on. Also took me off BP meds. She said to use Listerine for the inflamed gums.

As for prior health history, I’ve had ton of surgery’s. I too have asthma, which is odor induced brought on 15 years ago. Haven’t had to use my inhaler for a long time now. I also had stage 3 Breast Cancer, Parathyroidectomy, Liposarcoma which was attached to my gall bladder so they removed that. Very happy to be off dialysis after the transplant.

@missdi, I'm wondering how you are getting along on the reduced dose of cyclosporine. I hope that you are feeling some improvement. Are your labs satisfactory on the lower dose? What has the doctor had to say about this new level? What happens next?

Hi all! A new blog post today talks about our new living donor liver transplant programs. Read more about the new opportunities for those in need of a liver transplant!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/transplant/newsfeed-post/new-living-donor-liver-transplant-programs-begin-at-mayo-clinic-in-minnesota/

Happy August everyone! And another great thing for today - it looks like the FDA has approved a COVID booster vaccine for immune compromised patients today. Hopefully this brings us one step closer to normalcy again. In our blog post today, we are providing you with an update about living donation. If you are waiting or know someone who is waiting for a liver or kidney transplant, this is great information to share with potential living donors. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/transplant/newsfeed-post/living-donors-save-lives-a-2021-update/

Hi all, Happy Fall! I know it's not officially fall yet, but the weather in Minnesota has calmed down some, and we no longer have to change our sweaty clothes every time we go outside. It's a refreshing change for those of us who aren't fond of the humidity.

This week's blog post is heart related - a Meet the Expert post about one of our beloved cardiologists from Mayo Clinic in Florida. He also happens to be the Medical Director for Marketing for the transplant programs, which brings him in contact with those of us who moderate the Connect page often. We think he is pretty great, and I bet you will too! Read the blog today!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/transplant/newsfeed-post/meet-the-expert-dr-daniel-yip/

Hello everyone! We have a special treat for you today - a guest blogger writing on a topic that will interest most of you! Today's blog is written by @athenalee with editorial review from @estrada53, @loribmt and our transplant dietitians. This blog will provide you with details about food consumption and even some info on how to satisfy those sweet cravings in a more natural way. As always, check with your own transplant dietitian before making significant changes to your diet. Special thanks to @athenalee for sharing her wonderful findings with us!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/transplant/newsfeed-post/whats-on-my-plate-a-transplant-recipient-perspective/

In a First, Surgeons Attached a Pig Kidney to a Human — and It Worked

A kidney grown in a genetically altered pig seemed to function normally, potentially a new source for desperately needed transplant organs.
Dr. Robert Montgomery is director of the N.Y.U. Langone Transplant Institute in Manhattan. Genetically engineered pigs “could potentially be a sustainable, renewable source of organs,” he said.

By Roni Caryn Rabin , New York Times
Published Oct. 19, 2021Updated Oct. 20, 2021, 6:19 a.m. ET

Surgeons in New York have successfully attached a kidney grown in a genetically altered pig to a human patient and found that the organ worked normally, a scientific breakthrough that one day may yield a vast new supply of organs for severely ill patients.

Although many questions remain to be answered about the long-term consequences of the transplant, which involved a brain-dead patient followed only for 54 hours, experts in the field said the procedure represented a milestone.

“We need to know more about the longevity of the organ,” said Dr. Dorry Segev, professor of transplant surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who was not involved in the research. Nevertheless, he said: “This is a huge breakthrough. It’s a big, big deal.”

Researchers have long sought to grow organs in pigs suitable for transplantation into humans. A steady stream of organs — which could eventually include hearts, lungs and livers — would offer a lifeline to the more than 100,000 Americans currently on transplant waiting lists, including the 90,240 who need a kidney. Twelve people on the waiting lists die each day.

An even larger number of Americans with kidney failure — more than a half million — depend on grueling dialysis treatments to survive. In large part because of the scarcity of human organs, the vast majority of dialysis patients do not qualify for transplants, which are reserved for those most likely to thrive after the procedure.

The surgery, carried out at N.Y.U. Langone Health, was first reported by USA Today on Tuesday. The research has not yet been peer-reviewed nor published in a medical journal.

Last year, 39,717 residents of the United States received an organ transplant, the majority of them — 23,401 — receiving kidneys, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit that coordinates the nation’s organ procurement efforts.

Genetically engineered pigs “could potentially be a sustainable, renewable source of organs — the solar and wind of organ availability,” Dr. Montgomery said.