People who get an organ transplant and then a blood or marrow transplant may have serious problems
Important Points
- Risk of organ failure is higher after BMT
Second transplant may raise the risk of organ failure
Getting blood or marrow transplant (BMT) after an organ transplant may be risky, according to a study.
Doctors observed about 80 people who got an organ transplant and then a BMT. For example, these people were ill and got a donated heart, lung, kidney, or liver. Later, these same people had a blood cancer or disease and needed a BMT. Everyone lived in the US and had BMT during 1989-2017.
About 3 years after BMT:
- 40% (4 out of 10) people were alive
- 40% (4 out of 10) people’s donated organs were still working
- 60% (6 out of 10) people either died, or their donated organs failed
People were more likely to have serious problems if they had:
- a kidney transplant
- lymphoma
- BMT donated by another person (allogeneic BMT)
People were more likely to live longer if their BMT was autologous. Autologous means from their own cells, which had been sorted to remove diseased cells.
Keep In Mind
Getting 2 transplants is unusual. Each person is different. Also, medical care has improved since 1989, when the first recipient in this study had BMT. So, the results of this study may not apply to you. Ask your doctor about the possible benefits and harms of BMT after organ transplant.
More research is needed in people who got transplant recently.
This plain-language summary was written by Jennifer Motl at the Medical College of Wisconsin and reviewed by an author of the full article. ©2025 by CIBMTR, license CC BY-SA 4.0.
Learn More About
- BMT overview at NMDP.org
- Support when you need BMT at NMDP.org
- More study summaries at CIBMTR.org
Source
Gupta M, Schoettler ML, Orozco G, et al. Risk Factors for Solid Organ Graft Failure and Death in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Retrospective Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Study. Transplantation. June 23, 2025; doi:10.1097/tp.0000000000005377.
About This Research Summary
CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®) thanks study participants. This information is provided on behalf of the Consumer Advocacy Committee of CIBMTR. CIBMTR is a research collaboration between the Medical College of Wisconsin and NMDP.