Can a dirty house cause rejection?

[ajmc87]

My GF had her transplant last February. A couple months ago, she was diagnosed with A1 rejection. They gave her steroids, and she went down to A0 rejection. A month later, her Bronch showed that she had gone up to A3 rejection. They tested for a virus related to mono, they tested her stomach with radiation to check aspirations. Still no evidence as to what could be causing her rejection.

Now, for the main part. My roommates don't clean the house, and I am too busy to single-handedly keep up with all 5 of us regularly. There is mold all over my roommates' bathroom, there is mold and bacteria in the kitchen, and dust builds up in layers in the common rooms. Also, the carpet is possibly 30+ years old. My GF spends a LOT of time at my house. Is it possible that these conditions have given her lungs this rejection that they have?

Thank you in advance for your help,
Alex

 

[BreathinSteven]

It's difficult to say, Alex - it probably isn't a very good environment. But, whether it actually caused her rejection is another thing...

You've said there is mold around your place - but has she been diagnosed with any mold or fungal infections? It sounds like that isn't an issue - at least yet...

A theory could be that any infective agents in your home could be exciting her immune system - and an excited immune system, particularly early on, could cause the immune system to recognize a foreign tissue and push one towards rejection... It would likely be better to discuss that with her medical professionals and not jump to that conclusion...

They're testing her for EBV - Epstein-Barr Virus -- which is the related to mono... Post transplant we worry about EBV and CMV - cytomegalovirus - that are dormant in most of our bodies and can blossom in an immune suppressed body... (Particularly if she was EBV or CMV negative and her donor was positive - but it can happen either way...)

It's easy to make a knee-jerk assumption that your dirty environment was a factor in this - but it may or may not be true. It would be a good thing to discuss this situation with her transplant team.

Love, Steve

 

[kbkbkb]

Whether or not the conditions at your house caused rejection, this does not sound like an environment your girlfriend should spend any time in. Please remember that she is vulnerable to all kinds of things that the average person would not think twice about.

The last poster was right to suggest talking to her transplant team, but also, they can't warn you about every single possible hazard, sometimes it is better to be cautious especially when it comes to things like molds, bacteria and dust.

When I received my transplant 16 years ago, my parents had an issue with mildew in the basement and although i didn't spend much time in the basement, the transplant team suggested (but did not insist) that I not stay there. I thought it was best to just stay away until the issue was resolved and even then , i did not spend much time indoors there.

Remember too that rejection is one risk of immunosuppression, but infection is also a hazard and anything that may put her at risk should be avoided.

Good luck to her and to you.