Obesity Can Complicate Organ Transplants

Because overweight and obesity continue to be worldwide problems, measures to deal with overweight and obesity are eagerly sought.  Obesity is associated with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and some forms of cancer. In the future, obesity, no doubt, will be found to be associated with many more diseases. It is now known that obesity can complicate medical treatments -- including organ transplant procedures. Obesity may cause problems for both the donor and the transplant patient.

With respect to the transplant donor, a New York Times article entitled "WELL; Transplant Centers Struggle With Donors' Obesity," suggested that "Rising obesity has spurred a small but growing effort to pay closer attention to the health of obese donors, whose risks are still incompletely understood." Some potential donors are too heavy to be donors, since they violate the usual BMI limit of 35, or, in some cases, even the lower limit of 30.

In the case of the obese transplant patient, when that person is obese, complications can arise. In fact, "Being overweight and obese has been shown to have significant effects on both short- and long-term complications as well as patient and graft survival."

As a way to help potential transplant donors reach a qualifying weight, and to help transplant patients maintain a healthy weight after the operation, obesity medicine providers can work with the transplant team, the potential donor, and the transplant patient to apply evidence-based weight loss and weight maintenance methods.  Applying these methods can enable the donor and the transplant patient to achieve a more healthy weight prior to the transplant operation, and after the operation. 

If an obesity medicine provider works with the transplant team, the donor, and transplant patient, this collaboration could prove beneficial for the transplant donor, the transplant patient, the transplant team, and the obesity medicine provider.  This type of collaboration could produce future referrals for all of the involved health providers.

 

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