Kidney Transplant

A kidney transplant, also known as a renal transplant, is when a patient with end-stage kidney disease receives an organ transplant of a kidney. Depending on the source of the donor organ, kidney transplantation is usually classed as deceased-donor or living-donor transplantation.

What Leads to a Kidney Transplant?

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs positioned directly below the rib cage on each side of the spine. Each one is around the size of a fist. Urine is their primary job, which involves filtering and removing waste, minerals, and fluid from the blood. When your kidneys lose their ability to filter, dangerous levels of fluid and waste build up in your body, raising your blood pressure and leading to renal failure (end-stage kidney disease). When the kidneys have lost around 90% of their ability to operate normally, it is called end-stage renal disease.

Because you have all of this subspecialized expertise in one place, focused on you, you won’t just get one opinion — your care will be discussed among the team, test results will be available quickly, appointments will be coordinated, and your transplant care team will work together to determine what’s best for you. The Medica Superspecialty Hospital in Kolkata is one of the best in the region, with some of the city’s best urologists and nephrologists. We provide sophisticated care and treatment for a wide range of urological and nephrological illnesses, all of which are grouped together under the heading of Kidney Diseases. In our country, kidney illness affects a big number of people.

What are the Types of Kidney Transplant?

There are two types of kidney transplants:

• Deceased-donor kidney transplants
• Living-donor kidney transplants

Usually, the former type of kidney transplant is opted by the patients. But if you have a matching donor in the family, it can also mean that you can opt for a living donor kidney transplant.

Why is it done?

When compared to a lifetime on dialysis, a kidney transplant is frequently the therapy of choice for renal failure. A kidney transplant can help you feel better and live longer if you have chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease.

What are the Risks of Kidney Transplant?

Kidney transplantation can treat advanced kidney disease and kidney failure, but it is not a cure. Some forms of kidney disease may return after transplant.

The health risks associated with kidney transplant include those associated directly with the surgery itself, rejection of the donor organ and side effects of taking medications (anti-rejection or immunosuppressants) needed to prevent your body from rejecting the donated kidney.

Deciding whether kidney transplant is right for you is a personal decision that deserves careful thought and consideration of the serious risks and benefits. Talk through your decision with your friends, family and other trusted advisors.

Complications of a Kidney Transplant

Kidney transplant surgery has a high risk of serious complications, such as:

• Bleeding and blood clots
• The tube (ureter) that connects the kidney to the bladder leaks or becomes blocked.
• Infection
• The transplanted kidney fails or is rejected.
• An infection or malignancy that could be passed on to the recipient of the donated kidney
• Death, heart attack, and stroke are three of the most common causes of death.

The Procedure

To establish your eligibility for kidney transplantation, the transplant team will consider all of the information gathered from interviews, your medical history, physical exam, and tests.

You will be placed on the UNOS list once you have been accepted as a transplant candidate. You will be alerted as soon as a donor organ becomes available and instructed to come to the hospital right away.

If you’re getting a kidney from a live relative (a living-related transplant), the procedure can be scheduled ahead of time. The donor must be in good health and have a suitable blood type. To ensure that the donor is comfortable with the decision, a mental health assessment will be performed.