Immune Monitoring and Assay Development in Organ Transplant Recipients (IMP)

pediatric or adult organ transplant recipients, candidates for organ transplant, donors and normal volunteers of Emory University Hospital, the Emory Transplant Center or Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA)

Inclusion Criteria:

• recipients of or candidates for organ transplantation or organ donors for recipients under evaluation at Emory University or CHOA
• normal volunteers, including individuals without any known end-stage organ disease who are not on any immunosuppressive medication, and individuals with conditions requiring immunosuppression (i.e. dermatological diseases) that do not require transplant therapies
• ability to understand the purposes and risks of the study and willingly give written informed consent, or in the case of minors, ability to give minor assent (children older than 5 years of age), in conjunction with written guardian consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients who fail to meet the criteria for transplantation or post-transplant follow-up by Emory or Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta physicians
• Any condition that, in the opinion of the attending physician, would place the patient at undue risk by participating. Specific conditions include but are not limited to: anemia prohibitive of phlebotomy, coagulopathy or technical considerations that would prevent acquisition of sufficient tissue on biopsy for clinical use, or medical urgency preventing timely administration of the consenting process.