By a study Published in American Transplant Journal It was recently revealed that organs harvested from donors with a recent history of cannabis use showed no signs of infection or significant risk.
The study was conducted by a small group of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University, as well as researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Transplant Foundation Innovative Research Grant Program. Researchers conducted a study on transplants from three specific transplant centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during transplants conducted by the Gift of Life Program from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. I researched the information.
by CDC, Organ transplant patients take anti-rejection drugs that reduce the body's immune system response and help the body accept the new organ. That same drug can cause mild or life-threatening infections that can develop days, weeks, months, or even years after transplant surgery.
The authors explained that cannabis leaves can contain harmful bacteria and fungi, and inhaled cannabis has also been linked to infections in transplant patients. This study addressed the question of whether the organs of cannabis consumers are harmful to the patient receiving the organs. “The aim of our study is to better characterize the infection risk that may be posed by marijuana use in deceased organ donors. [solid organ transplants] recipient,” the authors write.
The authors explained the importance of their findings as the proportion of people who consume cannabis regularly is increasing. “Although this indicator is not specifically reported, a proportion of deceased organ donors are also likely to have had a history of marijuana use,” the authors said.
The study looked at donors who had used cannabis within the past 12 months before the study, as well as donors with no recent history of cannabis use. “Despite concerns that donor marijuana exposure increases the risk of fungal infections in recipients, our study found that donor history of marijuana use was associated with (1) positive donor cultures (including respiratory cultures); We found no increased likelihood of infection, or (2) “risk of early recipient bacterial or fungal infection, graft failure, or post-transplant death,” the study states. “Even when evaluating only lung recipients, we found no association between donor marijuana use and risk of post-transplant infection.”
The researchers looked at a variety of data from three transplant centers, including whether donors experienced bacterial or fungal infections and whether transplants failed and patients died. Overall, the organs of consumers who had recently used cannabis posed little threat to patients. “Among donors with a recent history of marijuana use, 79 (89%) had at least one positive culture, compared with 264 (87%) of donors with no history of marijuana use,” the study said. they wrote. “Respiratory cultures of donors showed no bacterial or fungal growth in 76 donors (85%) with a history of recent marijuana use and 250 (82%) without a history of recent marijuana use. There was no association between donor recent marijuana use and donor culture positivity in both unadjusted and multivariate analyses.”
However, it is important to note that the data the researchers reviewed were collected long after the transplant took place and relied on next of kin to help measure a patient's cannabis use. This was described as an “incomplete measure” of data collection.
“In conclusion, our study shows that donors with a recent history of marijuana use are no more likely to have a positive donor culture and their recipients will suffer from bacterial or fungal infections, graft failure, or early post-transplant death. “This suggests that the odds are not high (in terms of current business conditions),” the study concludes. “These results suggest that organs from donors with a history of recent marijuana use do not pose a significant new infection risk to recipients early after transplantation.”
Currently, medical marijuana patients often experience discrimination when seeking medical care, but they face particular restrictions when it comes to organ transplants, according to a report released last October by Harvard Law School's Petrie Fromm Center. It is said that there is. “Many transplant centers are discouraging cannabis users from undergoing solid organ transplants due to concerns about interactions between cannabis and the immunosuppressants used in transplants, treatment failure, fungal infections, and neuropsychiatric effects. It’s hindering me.” The report said:. As a result, medical marijuana patients are often ineligible for transplants.
The review adds that larger studies are needed to determine whether consuming medical cannabis “should not be an absolute contraindication to solid organ transplantation.” Additionally, several studies have shown evidence that medical cannabis can help with conditions such as: Prevent transplant rejection in some patients.
Last year, another study found that marijuana use was not a risk for liver transplant patients. The researchers found no correlation between cannabis users and non-cannabis users, and found that “marijuana use was not statistically associated with posttransplant bacterial or fungal infections, noncompliance, or continued substance use.'' There was no significant association.”
