Travel
If you like to travel, it’s important to know that travel after transplant is a bit different than before your kidney transplant. You won’t be able to travel for at least the first 3 months after your kidney transplant. Between the 3 months to a year after your transplant, you’ll be restricted to travel within Canada. Depending on your health and where you’re planning to go, you may be able to travel outside Canada a year after your transplant.
Before travelling, it’s very important to discuss your plans with your transplant team. You’ll need to plan for enough medicines and your regular blood work. Your transplant team can also give you advice about safe foods and activities, vaccines, and other ways to stay safe while travelling.
Pregnancy
It is possible to have children after having a transplant. If you’re thinking about becoming a parent for the first time or having more children, talk to your transplant team before you try to get pregnant or father a child.
It’s important to avoid unplanned pregnancies. When you’ve had a transplant, use a reliable method of birth control. There are many types of contraception – barriers (like condoms or diaphragms), birth control pills, patches, or injections. Talk to your transplant team about which is best for you.
Some of the medicines you need to take after a transplant may harm an unborn baby. This includes, but is not limited to, mycophenolate and some blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medicines. If you become pregnant while you’re taking these medicines, there’s a risk of having a miscarriage or a child born with birth defects.
It’s recommended that you wait at least 1 year after a transplant before thinking about having a baby. This helps to make sure your new kidney is working well. When it’s safe for you to become pregnant or father a child, your post-transplant team can prescribe medicines that are safer to take during this time and during the pregnancy. If you become pregnant, you’ll also need to have extra medical care, planning, and follow-up.
