Renal Transplant Rejection: Types and Causes

Living with a renal transplant constantly exposes you to the risk of organ rejection. Although it might sound scary, it usually happens because the medication needs to be tuned according to the requirements of your body. A change in medication usually solves the problem of a possible rejection, and a rejection becomes less likely if it doesn't happen within a year of the transplant. Some obvious signs of rejection are a pain on the region of transplant, fever, change in weight or low urine discharge.

The causes behind a renal rejection vary on the basis of the type of rejection that takes place. Here are three different types of renal rejection and their causes:

• Hyperacute Rejection - Hyperacute rejection occurs within 24 hours of the transplant. It can have an immediate effect and occurs as the existing antibodies act against the grafted material, causing irreversible destruction. The immune system may recognize it as a foreign body and destroy it. Hyperacute rejection is common for patients who have received multiple blood transfusions or have suffered from transplant rejection earlier. The tissue must be removed immediately before it becomes fatal for the recipient. This type of rejection can generally be avoided if the doctors type or match both the receiver and the organ donor. The organ is less likely to be rejected if there are similar antigens between donor and receiver.
• Acute Rejection - Acute rejection generally occurs after the first week of transplantation. Acute rejection is common in most recipients. Since a perfect match of antigens is rare to find, except in the case of identical twins, some amount acute rejection occurs in the case of all recipients. It can cause complications like bleeding and inflammation. The risk of acute rejection is highest in the first three months of the transplant.
• Chronic Rejection - Chronic rejection occurs months later after the transplantation. This happens over time when the immune system of the body reacts against the transplanted tissue and slowly damages the organ. In such a case, the kidneys can suffer from scarring or fibrosis and damaged blood vessels.

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