1. Take your pills on time every day. Of course, if you're driving down the interstate and you're ten minutes from home,
you might want to wait. But always make an effort to take them as close to your regular time as possible.
2. Keep appointments and stay in touch with your transplant team. Even if you live far from your transplant center, or
have a health condition arise that isn’t related to your transplant, it’s best to maintain regular contact with your
transplant physician or coordinator.
3. Exercise regularly, how you like, when you like, and with your doctor’s approval. Many people enjoy many different
types of exercise, so do what you enjoy most…just do it. But as always, discuss any exercise program with your doctor
before beginning it.
4. Eat well, according to the diet given you by your doctor or dietician. Each transplant patient has a diet that is
specific to him or her. But with many of us, it’s even more important to watch our cholesterol, sugar, and fat intake. Also
raw or not fully cooked meats are out.
5. Wash your hands! Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. After petting animals, after using the
bathroom, after taking out the trash, after working outside, after housecleaning, after shopping or simply being out in
public, after shaking hands, (you don’t know where that hand has been!), and frequently while preparing meals involving
the handling of raw foods such as meat, eggs, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
6. Visit your dermatologist and dentist at least twice a year. Transplant medications can cause skin cancer and other
skin conditions. Keep on top of them by visiting a dermatologist regularly. Also be certain to wear sunscreen of SPF 30 or
higher whenever you go out in the sun, even if for only a few minutes. Transplant medications can also cause gum
disease, resulting in potential tooth loss. Visit your dentist and be sure to brush and floss daily.
7. Stay in touch and involved. Don’t let your new life with its new challenges keep you from doing what you love.
Within the limits your physician has set for you, enjoy what you’ve always enjoyed and be with those you love. You’ll find
greater happiness and longer life.
8. Keep educating yourself. Simply, you can never know too much about transplantation and how to be healthy
following transplant. Listen to other’s success stories and learn from them.
9. Develop a network of other recipients. Form a network of transplant friends. You can often get support and
information from other recipients that you cannot get from anywhere else. You can also become of source of information,
support, and even inspiration to those who have been recently transplanted.
10. Give back. Now with over 98,000 people in the U.S. in need of an organ transplant, there is more need than ever to
help promote organ donation. You, as a recipient, are in a unique position to give your own perspective and express this
need to others in your community. There are numerous resources to help you do this, from the OPO, or Organ
Procurement Organization in your area, to various non-profit organizations who have the success of transplantation in
their interest. Such organizations include the National Kidney Foundation, www.kidney.org, the Coalition on Donation,
www.donatelife.org, and TRIO. You will also find valuable information on the government website, www.organdonor.
gov. Help spread the word and the facts about organ donation.
you might want to wait. But always make an effort to take them as close to your regular time as possible.
2. Keep appointments and stay in touch with your transplant team. Even if you live far from your transplant center, or
have a health condition arise that isn’t related to your transplant, it’s best to maintain regular contact with your
transplant physician or coordinator.
3. Exercise regularly, how you like, when you like, and with your doctor’s approval. Many people enjoy many different
types of exercise, so do what you enjoy most…just do it. But as always, discuss any exercise program with your doctor
before beginning it.
4. Eat well, according to the diet given you by your doctor or dietician. Each transplant patient has a diet that is
specific to him or her. But with many of us, it’s even more important to watch our cholesterol, sugar, and fat intake. Also
raw or not fully cooked meats are out.
5. Wash your hands! Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. After petting animals, after using the
bathroom, after taking out the trash, after working outside, after housecleaning, after shopping or simply being out in
public, after shaking hands, (you don’t know where that hand has been!), and frequently while preparing meals involving
the handling of raw foods such as meat, eggs, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
6. Visit your dermatologist and dentist at least twice a year. Transplant medications can cause skin cancer and other
skin conditions. Keep on top of them by visiting a dermatologist regularly. Also be certain to wear sunscreen of SPF 30 or
higher whenever you go out in the sun, even if for only a few minutes. Transplant medications can also cause gum
disease, resulting in potential tooth loss. Visit your dentist and be sure to brush and floss daily.
7. Stay in touch and involved. Don’t let your new life with its new challenges keep you from doing what you love.
Within the limits your physician has set for you, enjoy what you’ve always enjoyed and be with those you love. You’ll find
greater happiness and longer life.
8. Keep educating yourself. Simply, you can never know too much about transplantation and how to be healthy
following transplant. Listen to other’s success stories and learn from them.
9. Develop a network of other recipients. Form a network of transplant friends. You can often get support and
information from other recipients that you cannot get from anywhere else. You can also become of source of information,
support, and even inspiration to those who have been recently transplanted.
10. Give back. Now with over 98,000 people in the U.S. in need of an organ transplant, there is more need than ever to
help promote organ donation. You, as a recipient, are in a unique position to give your own perspective and express this
need to others in your community. There are numerous resources to help you do this, from the OPO, or Organ
Procurement Organization in your area, to various non-profit organizations who have the success of transplantation in
their interest. Such organizations include the National Kidney Foundation, www.kidney.org, the Coalition on Donation,
www.donatelife.org, and TRIO. You will also find valuable information on the government website, www.organdonor.
gov. Help spread the word and the facts about organ donation.
| Don't ever say you can't! This group of transplant recipients climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia while there participating in the Australian Transplant Games in 2004. |
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