Multi-organ Transplantation: Is There a Protective Effect Against Acute and Chronic Rejection?

Recipients of multiple organs from a single donor undergo less acute rejection of the heart or lungs compared with isolated heart or lung transplant recipients. Cardiac allograft vasculopathy is decreased significantly when cardiac transplantation is combined with a lung allograft. A lower incidence of cardiac allograft vasculopathy is observed when cardiac transplantation is combined with a renal allograft, and may prove statistically significant when more cases have been accumulated. These phenomena may result from immune modulation of the recipient by simultaneous transplant of disparate tissues or introduction of immune-modulating hematopoietic elements.