More people than ever before are living longer and healthier lives thanks to organ transplants.
Advances in transplantation technologies have helped many people qualify for and receive organs, such as:
Unfortunately, sometimes the body may reject a donor organ.
Organ transplant recipients take antirejection drugs to combat this fairly common complication, but these medicines suppress the body's immune system, leaving people more susceptible to infection and other diseases.
Doctors often take tissue samples from the donor organ to test for signs of rejection or infection.
Transplant pathologists specialize in identifying rejection, infection, and other conditions. Their diagnoses help the transplant surgery team care for the patient before and after surgery.
These pathologists also deal with liver disease related to:
Learn more about transplant pathology from the Department of Pathology.
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