Clinical transplantation
-
Organ transplantation has become an accepted means of treating end-stage organ disease in recent years with acceptable patient and graft survival. Transplant recipients have an increased risk of infectious complications due to multiple factors including decreased host resistance from chronic end-stage organ failure as well as from the immunosuppression required to prevent graft rejection. ⋯ Only 3 of 36 organ recipients had infections caused by organisms found in the contaminated donor organs for a rate of 8%. Contaminated donor organs seem to fare as well as non-contaminated donor organs and there was no increase in morbidity or mortality. Contamination of organs should not be an absolute contraindication to the use of these organs in transplantation.