Effects of Smoking on Solid Organ Transplantation Outcomes

Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Both donor and recipient smoking have been shown to increase graft loss and mortality in solid organ transplant recipients in many studies. Only in lung transplants is smoking a universal contraindication to transplantation. Transplant centers implement different policies regarding smoking recipients and allografts from smoking donors. Due to scarcity of available allografts, the risks of smoking have to be weighed against the risks of a longer transplant waitlist period. Although transplant centers implement different strategies to encourage smoking cessation pre- and post-transplant, not many studies have been published that validate the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions in this vulnerable population. This article summarizes the results of studies investigating prevalence, impact on outcomes, and cessationinterventions for smoking in the transplant population. We report herein a review of the elevated risks of infection, malignancy, graft loss, cardiovascular events, and mortality in solid organ transplant populations.