The immune system makes antibodies to try to kill the new organ, not realizing that the transplanted kidney is beneficial. To allow the organ to successfully live in a new body, medications must be given to trick the immune system into accepting the transplant and not thinking it is a foreign object. Medications must be given for the rest of the child s life to fight rejection. Each child is individual, and each transplant team has preferences for different medications. New anti-rejection medications are continually being approved.
Physicians tailor drug regimes to meet the needs of each individual child.
Usually several anti-rejection medications are given initially. The doses of these medications may change frequently as your child s response to them changes. Because anti-rejection medications affect the immune system, children who receive a transplant will be at higher risk for infections. A balance must be maintained between preventing rejection and making your child very susceptible to infection. Blood tests to measure the amount of medication in the body are done periodically to make sure your child does not get too much or too little of the medications.