Staying on track

Despite the important role medications play in keeping people healthy, studies show that up to 50% of transplant recipients do not take their medications as prescribed.

This is a scary fact because stopping one or all of your medications—even skipping a single dose—without guidance from your doctor is very dangerous. It has been shown that a significant percentage of rejection and organ loss is due to recipients not taking medications as directed.

The single most important thing you can do to protect your long-term health is to follow your transplant team’s instructions, including taking your medications as prescribed.

In 2007 there were nearly 3,111 people on the heart transplant waiting list and only about 2,290 available donors.

Your organ is a precious gift, and honoring that gift means staying committed to lifelong care and taking all the steps needed to protect your organ, which means staying on track with your medications and being sure to keep all of your scheduled doctor’s appointments.

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