Anti-rejection medications

About rejection

Your immune system is your body's defense against foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses. Unfortunately, your immune system cannot tell the difference between a harmful invader and your transplanted kidney and will try to reject it.

Rejection is dangerous because it can permanently damage your new organ and can sometimes lead to re-transplant. That is why your transplant team has prescribed anti-rejection medications as part of your long-term therapy.

Why you need anti-rejection medications

Anti-rejection medications (also called immunosuppressants) 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 suppress the body’s immune response.

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.

Preventing rejection with Prograf^® (tacrolimus)

Prograf is an immunosuppressant approved for the prevention of rejection in people who have received a liver, kidney, or heart transplant. Anti-rejection medications like Prograf are essential to the success of transplantation. In fact, since approval for rejection prevention for liver transplantation in 1994, for kidney transplantation in 1997, and for heart transplantation in 2006, Prograf has become a treatment that recipients and healthcare professionals alike can believe in.

To learn more about what Prograf can do for you, read the following brochure, which is an Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Please click here to download Adobe Reader for free.

Prograf and You

Important Safety Information About Prograf

Prograf^® (tacrolimus) is approved for the prevention of rejection in patients who have received a liver, kidney, or heart 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 22% of patients taking Prograf developed insulin-dependent diabetes after transplant, but in some patients, after two years, insulin was no longer required. Black 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, insomnia, high blood pressure, diarrhea, nausea, constipation, stomach pain, changes in kidney function, high blood sugar, low white cell count, infection, and high cholesterol/lipid levels. Prograf should not be used in patients allergic to tacrolimus. Prograf injection should not be used in patients allergic to castor oil. Only your healthcare professional can weigh the risks and benefits of a prescription medication and decide which medication is the right one for you.

Full Prescribing Information

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