Video: How transplant caregivers can take care of themselves

We asked a Mayo Clinic expert: How can transplant caregivers take care of themselves?

Danielle Reuss, Transplant Social Worker: When we think about our caregivers and recipients and their support systems, I think about rings of support. I think about my patient and their caregiver and usually their closest loved ones together right in the center. And it's important that the caregiver and the recipient feel as though they can reach out, or dump out, the concerns they have to those outer rings. And that the folks in their outer rings of support are sending in support.

We encourage our caregivers to take as much time as they can to rest and get sleep after their loved one has their transplant. Eat well, because it's easy to get exhausted really quickly. And we know that people who get exhausted are more at risk for catching an infection.

Sometimes what we'll see is our transplant recipient will become more irritable or short-tempered with their caregiver. I suppose it's unfair, but it also makes sense because we trust our loved ones to love us unconditionally. So it's important for our caregivers to just have some patience and understanding and hope and trust that this phenomenon will subside after a while.

Danielle Reuss has supported hundreds of patients and their families through the transplant process.