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Solid Organ Transplant News

 

Department of Surgery

Division of Solid Organ Transplant Surgery

Procedures

Kidney Transplant Surgery

Is a Kidney Transplant Right for You?

A kidney transplant is offered only to people who have irreversible, chronic kidney failure. Usually, other medical or surgical treatments have been tried before a transplant is considered.

Age is not necessarily a factor in deciding if you’re a candidate for kidney transplant. Newborns, infants, children and adults past the age of 70 have all had successful kidney transplants.

What is important is your general health and suitability for major surgery. For example, you can’t have a transplant if you have:

  • Cancer in another part of your body
  • Serious heart, lung or nerve disease that would make the operation too risky
  • An active, severe infection that can’t be completely treated or cured, such as tuberculosis
  • An inability to follow your doctor's instructions

Of course, all major surgery carries risks, and a transplant is no exception. The risks associated with surgery in general are:

  • Reactions to anesthesia
  • Problems breathing
  • Bleeding
  • Infection

Transplants carry additional problems, such as:

  • Rejection (the body considers the transplanted organ to be a “foreign substance” and uses its natural immune system to destroy it)

  • Life-long need to take medicines (called immunosuppressive drugs) that prevent rejection by suppressing the immune system; this weaken the body's ability to fight infections

  • Finding a healthy organ

  • Cost

However, if your primary doctor recommends a transplant, it probably is the best treatment option for your condition. Kidney transplants do save lives.

If you’re referred to us for a kidney transplant, a five-step process will begin.

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