what organ transplant patients should know about microsampling

Did you know that right this moment, around 123,000 people are waiting for an organ in the United States? A significant percentage of these people will soon become organ transplant patients.

Organ transplant is a crucial procedure that not only saves the lives of patients suffering from terminal organ failures but also improves their quality of life. However, for a successful organ transplant to take place, monitoring of the patient before the transplant, during the transplant, and after is very crucial.

Many tests are done on the patient to determine the compatibility of the patient with the organ. After the transplant, most patients will recover quickly and continue to live a healthy life. However, there are those who will face health challenges that may need monitoring and assistance.

As organ transplant involves getting a part of another human being or living thing to integrate with you, your body may reject the organ as soon as it is transplanted. When this occurs, the medical team involved in your transplant will recommend that you take immunosuppressant drugs.

These are the drugs that prevent your immune system from attacking the transplanted organ in your body. In addition to this, you will need to take other medications that work with the immunosuppressant drugs and control their side effects. This is because the anti-rejection drugs are typically taken for the lifetime of your transplanted organ.

During the monitoring process, the doctors will practice Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM), an individualized therapy to ensure that you get the optimal balance of efficiency of the drugs and the occurrence of adverse effects.

At this point, microsampling can play a significant role if you’re a transplant patient. As part of the monitoring process, the medical team will need your blood sample from time to time to perform various tests and ensure you are in good health.

Home blood collection methods are gradually becoming popular as a result of convenient microsampling devices designed to support the immunosuppressant therapies in transplant patients. The device is designed to help you reproducibly and easily collect small volumes (e.g., 10µL) of blood in the comfort of your home.

For an organ transplant patient, microsampling is safe and convenient and can make the TDM process easier.