Nutrition and Transplant Outcomes

Dietary guidelines and Nutrient Reference Intakes are important tools for maintaining optimal health in the general population. Similar guidelines have also been developed by specific organ health associations to help their patient populations recover from disorders or prevent/delay clinical events and subsequent complications. However, there are no specific national and international guidelines to provide dietary and nutrient intake recommendations peri-transplantation. The complex nature of transplantation and insufficient high-quality data are among the factors limiting the establishment of such dietary and nutritional guidelines. Therefore, individualized nutritional care seems to be the best strategy peri-transplantation. In this regard, strong cooperation of involved partners, including the patients and their family members/caregivers plus their healthcare providers, along with nutrition knowledge, plays a crucial role. The ultimate goal is to take advantage of the provision of adequate high-quality nutrients to facilitate a faster wound healing process and recovery from surgical procedures, prevent acute infection post-transplantation, reduce the length of hospitalization, and prevent/postpone the onset of post-transplantation metabolic morbidities. Altogether, an optimal nutritional status will help to reduce the complications associated with transplantation and relevant therapies, enhancing survival rates of donor organs. Special considerations should be given to possible interactions between dietary agents and drugs to ensure minimal damages to the “gift-of-life” and maximal rates of a long-term survival.