Anti-thymocyte globulin is a sterilized solution made of the cells of rabbits that have been injected with white blood cells from humans.

Anti-thymocyte globulin lowers your body's immune system. The immune system helps your body fight infections. The immune system can also fight or "reject" a transplanted organ such as a liver or kidney. This is because the immune system treats the new organ as an invader.

Anti-thymocyte globulin is used together with other medicines to prevent your body from rejecting a kidney transplant.

Anti-thymocyte globulin may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

You should not use this medication if you are allergic to rabbit proteins, or if you have ever had an allergic reaction to anti-thymocyte globulin.

To make sure you can safely take anti-thymocyte globulin, tell your doctor if you have any of these other conditions:

• an active or chronic infection; or
• a serious infection called sepsis.

FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether anti-thymocyte globulin will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.

It is not known whether anti-thymocyte globulin passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while you are using anti-thymocyte globulin.

Using anti-thymocyte globulin may increase your risk of developing certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes). Talk with your doctor about your specific risk.

Use Anti-Thymocyte Globulin (Thymoglobulin (Rabbit)) exactly as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your doctor. Do not use in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Serious and sometimes fatal infections may occur during treatment with anti-thymocyte globulin. Stop using this medicine and call your doctor right away if you have signs of infection such as:

• fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;
• mouth and throat ulcers;
• rapid heart rate, rapid and shallow breathing;
• weakness, tired feeling; or
• feeling like you might pass out.

Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

• white patches inside your mouth or on your lips;
• easy bruising, unusual bleeding (nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum), purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin;
• swollen glands, rash or itching, joint pain;
• pain or burning when you urinate;
• dry cough, wheezing, feeling short of breath;
• chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, sweating, general ill feeling; or
• high potassium (slow heart rate, weak pulse, muscle weakness, tingly feeling).

Less serious side effects may include:

• headache, dizziness;
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain;
• swelling in your hands or feet; or
• pain, swelling, or redness where the injection was given.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Do not receive a "live" vaccine while using anti-thymocyte globulin. The vaccine may not work as well during this time, and may not fully protect you from disease. Live vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), oral polio, rotavirus, smallpox, typhoid, yellow fever, varicella (chickenpox), H1N1 influenza, and nasal flu vaccine.