Kidney Transplantation: How It Works

Kidney Transplantation: How It Works

A kidney transplant is a treatment option for end-stage renal disease.  Kidney transplantation is a surgical procedure whereby a donor kidney is placed into a patient (recipient) with end-stage renal disease.

The donor kidney is placed on one side or the other in the lower abdomen of the recipient.  Large blood vessels above the groin supply the donor kidney with blood. The diseased kidneys are not removed during the kidney transplant.  Sometimes they may need to be removed prior to the kidney transplant for medical reasons.  Most often, however, they are not removed.

After a successful kidney transplant, the donor kidney will do the work the diseased kidneys could no longer perform.  Thus, there will no longer be a need for dialysis.

Kidney donors can come from a live person, such as a family member or a close friend.  Kidney donors may also come from a deceased donor.  A deceased donor is someone who has recently died, whose family members have donated the deceased person's organs for transplantation.  To be eligible for a deceased donor organ, you must be placed on a waiting list.  Unfortunately, there are far more people in need of organs than there are deceased donor organs.  Wait time varies, depending on a good match and other factors.

Tests to match your blood type and tissue type must be done to find a kidney that will most likely be accepted, not rejected, in your body.  If you have a living donor relative or a friend with a different blood or tissue type from yours, however, a new procedure has made it possible to make a successful match. 

Immunosuppression drugs are used to prevent or treat rejection of the new kidney.  There are some side effects or complications from these drugs, but they are becoming safer and more effective.

A transplant recipient's stay in the hospital averages about a week for uncomplicated kidney transplants.  Living donors can expect to stay in the hospital from three to seven days, again depending on how complicated the surgery is.