There are many reasons why someone may need an organ transplant. Here are a few examples for the liver, kidney, and heart:

Liver: The liver is an essential organ. The organ has several functions, including helping the body eliminate waste and toxins. Liver failure can be sudden and there is no treatment that can help, like dialysis can for kidney failure. Liver failure could be due to trauma, medication overdoses, some herbal supplements, toxins, and sepsis. Damage can also occur slowly due to chronic diseases, like hepatitis or other conditions.

Kidney: Humans can live with one kidney, but the only cure is a transplant if neither kidney is functioning properly. Dialysis can prolong life, but this is not a cure and dialysis has risks of its own, including infections. Kidneys help filter waste from the body, maintain a balance of fluid in the body, and regulate blood pressure, among other roles.

Like liver failure, kidney damage can be acute (sudden) or chronic. The most common cause of acute kidney injury is a severe drop in blood pressure, as in shock or serious blood loss. It can also be caused by overuse or overdose of some medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as severe allergic reactions and major injuries, among others.

Heart: Someone in severe heart failure would need a heart transplant. Heart failure can be caused by damage to the heart due to a heart attack, chronic heart disease, heart defects, drug abuse, chronic lung disease, infections, and more.

People waiting for a heart transplant may need an artificial heart while waiting, but this is not a long-term solution, nor is everyone a candidate for mechanical devices.

There are many reasons why someone who needs or gets an organ transplant is at risk for infection. This means they are at risk for sepsis.

Before the transplant:

The most common risk for people with kidney disease is dialysis. Read more about sepsis and dialysis here.

Those with liver diseases are immunocompromised, which means their immune system isn’t working well enough to prevent infection. A study from the Netherlands found that 44% of patients on the liver transplant waiting list developed an infection, and almost a quarter had to be taken off the list, or they died before they could be removed.

People waiting for a lung transplant are usually susceptible to respiratory viruses, even a cold or flu.

The infection risk remains for most patients waiting for any organ.

After the transplant:

After the transplant may be the most serious time for infection and sepsis risk. There is always a chance of infection from the surgery itself. There is also a risk of healthcare-acquired infections, which increases with patients’ length of time in the hospital or a rehabilitation or convalescent setting.

People who have had organ transplants often go on to live healthy and fulfilling lives, but they must always remain vigilant about their health. The anti-rejection medications they must take to keep their body from rejecting the transplanted organ also lowers the body’s ability to fight infections. Because of this, transplant recipients must watch for signs of infection regardless of the type of transplant they received.

The signs and symptoms of an infection would depend on the type of infection present. For example, a urinary tract infection (UTI) could cause burning on urination, foul-smelling urine, and the need to urinate frequently; pneumonia could cause fever, cough, and weakness; and an infected skin wound could cause redness and warmth around the wound, discharge from the wound, increased pain and fever. If you have had a transplant and suspect you have an infection, contact your doctor or transplant care team right away.

Sometimes, it is severe sepsis or septic shock that causes organ damage. In most cases, the damage is temporary and sepsis survivors regain most if not all of the organ’s use. But sometimes, the damage is too severe, and the only chance for survival is a transplant.

One example of a sepsis survivor who falls in this category is singer Angelica Hale. At four years old, Angelica developed pneumonia, which triggered sepsis. This, in turn, caused kidney failure, and she needed a transplant.

Regardless of the risk factors, anyone on a transplant list or who has had a transplant needs to be vigilant about infection prevention. They should discuss who to contact with their doctor or transplant team if they suspect they may have an infection.