Anti-rejection medications protect your organ by slowing down your immune system. There are a variety of anti-rejection medications available, and each works in a different way to inhibit different phases of the body’s immune response. Prograf is a commonly prescribed immunosuppressive agent that helps prevent rejection episodes in kidney and liver recipients. In fact, since approval for rejection prevention for liver transplantation in 1994, and for kidney transplantation in 1997, Prograf has helped more than 100,000 people.

Other anti-rejection medications are also available. Your transplant team will determine which combination of medications is right for you and may alter your medication regimen to improve rejection prevention or reduce side effects.

Though you will likely require numerous medications during the first year following your transplant, the amount and number of medications you need may be reduced as your body becomes more used to your new organ.

Prograf^® (tacrolimus capsules and injection) is approved for the prevention of rejection in patients who have received a liver or kidney transplant. Only physicians and facilities specializing in transplantation should manage patients taking Prograf. Anti-rejection medications may result in an increased possibility of developing an infection or lymphoma, a type of cancer.

In clinical studies, up to 20% of patients taking Prograf developed insulin dependent diabetes after transplant, but in some patients, after two years, insulin was no longer required. African American and Hispanic kidney transplant patients were at an increased risk.

Prograf has been associated with toxicity to the kidneys and nervous system. Common side effects are tremor, headache, high blood pressure, diarrhea, nausea and changes in kidney function.

Prograf Prescribing Information
Prograf Patient Information
Prograf Safety Information

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