The sophisticated immunosuppressive medications available today allow organ transplants to be successful, but not neessarily free from rejection. Acute rejection happens to almost all patients who receive organ transplants. The patient's immune system and white blood cells recognize the transplanted organ as being foreign and mount a defense against the organ. The new organ is then incapable of working at full efficiency, and symptoms of rejection become apparent to the transplant recipient. These symptoms of rejection are very similar to the symptoms of organ failure.
Early detection is essential to successful reversal of acute rejection.
For this reason, the transplant recipient carries a large responsibility for maintaining his or her health. Acute rejection is almost always reversible with special medication. Once successfully reversed, some patients never have trouble with acute rejection again, although some patient do have subsequent episodes. Most rejection episodes require admission to the hospital. Acute rejection is rare beyond the first year of transplant.