Patient Support

Transplant Experience can help you take an active role in your long-term health by providing you with continuous information and encouragement pre-transplant, during your first year post-transplant, and beyond—so you can be ready for what's ahead.

Transplant recipients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals who join Transplant Experience receive ongoing motivation, health-management tools, and real advice from experts in transplantation.

At the Transplant Experience website you can:

Learn about living healthy
Find out where to go for personal and financial support
Learn about special contests and programs
Download all kinds of useful information
Watch informative video programming

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Transplant recipients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals can all benefit from Transplant Experience. So if you're not a member, why not sign up now?

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Get a free welcome kit filled with useful tools when you first join Transplant Experience

Support Materials

Then, throughout the year you'll receive quarterly newsletters and special mailings with vital information to help you achieve success throughout your transplant experience.

What is Prograf?

PROGRAF is a prescription medicine used with other medicines to help prevent organ rejection in people who have had a kidney, liver, or heart transplant. PROGRAF is not for use with medicines called cyclosporines (Gengraf^®, Neoral^®, and Sandimmune^®) and is not for use with a medicine called sirolimus (Rapamune^®) in people who have had a liver or heart transplant. It is not known if PROGRAF is safe and effective when used with sirolimus in people who have had kidney transplants. It is not known if PROGRAF is safe and effective in children who have had kidney or heart transplants.

What is the most important information I should know about Prograf?

Prograf can cause serious side effects, including:
1. Increased risk of cancer. People who take Prograf have an increased risk of getting some kinds of cancer, including skin and lymph gland cancer (lymphoma).
2. Increased risk of infection. Prograf is a medicine that affects your immune system. Prograf can lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections. Serious infections can happen in people receiving Prograf that can cause death. Call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an infection such as fever, sweats or chills, cough or flu-like symptoms, muscle aches, and/or warm, red, or painful areas on your skin.

Do not take PROGRAF if you are allergic to tacrolimus or any of the ingredients in PROGRAF.

Before you take PROGRAF, tell your doctor if you: plan to receive any live vaccines, have or have had liver, kidney or heart problems, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. PROGRAF may harm your unborn baby and can pass into your breast milk. You and your doctor should decide if you will take PROGRAF or breastfeed. You should not do both.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. PROGRAF may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how PROGRAF works. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your doctor and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

How Should I Take PROGRAF?

Do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking PROGRAF. Take PROGRAF exactly as your doctor tells you to take it. Take PROGRAF with or without food and the same way and time every day. If you take too much PROGRAF, call your doctor or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.

PROGRAF may cause serious side effects, including:

high blood sugar (diabetes), kidney problems, nervous system problems, high levels of potassium in your blood, high blood pressure, or heart problems (myocardial hypertrophy). Call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms: frequent urination, increased thirst or hunger, blurred vision, confusion, drowsiness, loss of appetite, fruity smell on your breath, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle tremors, numbness and tingling, headache, seizures, vision changes, shortness of breath, chest pain, feel lightheaded, or feel faint.

The most common side effects of PROGRAF are: tremors (shaking of the body); high blood pressure; kidney problems; diarrhea; headache; stomach pain; trouble sleeping; nausea; pain; weakness or low red blood cell count (anemia); infection; constipation; low levels of phosphate in your blood; swelling of the hands, ankles, or legs; high levels of fat or potassium in your blood; numbness or tingling in your hands or feet; fever; or low levels of magnesium in the blood.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of PROGRAF. For more information, ask your doctor or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.