Organ transplants In some cases, an organ transplant is the best or only treatment for an incurable disease. In Finland, kidney, liver, heart, pancreas, small intestine, lung and cornea transplants are performed. Rejection drugs have improved the results of organ transplants, with 94% of kidney transplants functioning one year after surgery and half more than 20 years. A total of about 300 organ transplants are performed in Finland each year. In 2016, 399 organ transplants were performed in Finland. Rejection drugs are needed to prevent the body's natural attack on a foreign organ. The body recognizes the transplanted organ as foreign and begins to defend against it through the immune system, triggering an innate rejection reaction. After transplantation, patients are usually started on a combination of 2-3 medicines that affect the immune system, ie immunosuppressant, to suppress the immune system so that there is no rejection. The transplant patient needs lifelong immunosuppressive medication, which is started in high doses after surgery and is gradually reduced to a level of permanent medication after about a year. There are many different drugs that affect the immune system, and different combinations are used depending on the organ being transplanted and the patient's personal characteristics, possible other medications, and diseases. The aim is to keep the medication to a minimum so that the risks of side effects are kept to a minimum, but still high enough to prevent rejection. Possible rejection can be stated as a decrease in the function of the transplanted organ, e.g. by laboratory tests or as cell changes in the test piece. Rejection medication is essential for the survival of the patient and the transplanted organ. Updated 12/18/2017 Ice Print Download front pageHealth information Novartis in Finland Contact information Innovations Novartis as a company News To work for us Locations Health information Follow us Novartis elsewhere online © 2021 Novartis Finland Oy Terms of use Privacy Statements Cookie settings This site is aimed at the public in Finland. Your privacy is important to us. We use cookies to improve your experience by visiting our website: performance cookies show us how you use this website, functional cookies remember your preferences, and targeting cookies help us share content that is relevant to you. Select "Accept all" if you want to accept all cookies, select "Cookie settings" to manage different cookies, or select "Reject all" if you only want to use cookies that are absolutely necessary. You can change your cookie settings at any time by pressing the cookie settings on the website. Cookie settings Discard everything Accept everything