Vaccination is the most efficient and cost-effective intervention to prevent infectious diseases in healthy persons. Although pre-transplant vaccination has been recommended in SOT candidates, consensual protocols did not exist up to the end of the 90’s. In the case of HSCT, some studies have demonstrated the benefit of pre-transplant vaccination. However, timing is a major obstacle, since the interval between pre-transplant assessment and transplantation may be too short, especially for vaccines with multiple doses.

In the setting of SOT, the majority of published studies are small and highly heterogeneous regarding to trial design, patient cohorts selected, inclusion criteria, dosing and vaccination schemes, follow up periods and outcomes. Thus, although the evidences for vaccination recommendations for SOT recipients remains poor, immunization protocols and vaccination program schedules should be reviewed before transplant to prevent serious complications caused by vaccine-preventable diseases.