In all varieties of organ transplants, early results have dramatically improved over the past two decades and failures due to acute rejection are becoming rarer. Efficient immunosuppressive regimens have been developed with the objective of very good results at 1, 3 and 5 years.
Successful transplants, however, are significantly less frequent at 10 and 20 years, and many patients require retransplantation. Many factors are involved in late graft loss and it is now well recognized that, in addition to chronic rejection, a number of non-immunologic factors play a prominent role. In the...

With a long practice of organ transplantation, retransplantation has become a major goal in patients with long-term failure of their first transplant (chronic rejection, exhaustion of the transplant, recurrence of the initial disease, etc. ). In addition, retransplantation can be necessary in the initial period, due to severe acute rejection, a non-functioning organ, or surgical complication. Immunological and non-immunological factors affecting the success of a second transplant are described in this volume, together with alternatives to retransplantation. It is hoped that in the future...

This text, part of the Continuing Education series reflects the latest developments in the area of transplantation and organ shortage, and offers solutions to the problems faced."