Department of Surgery

Division of Solid Organ Transplantation

Procedures

Kidney Transplant Surgery

What Do the Kidneys Do?

The kidneys, a part of the urinary system, are a pair of bean shaped organs in the back of abdomen. They clean the body of excess water, salt and waste products. As blood circulates through the kidneys, it passes through more than a million tiny filtering units within them. These filters produce a liquid waste (urine). Urine flows from the kidneys through a pair of thin tubes, the ureters, to the bladder, where it is stored until a person urinates. The kidneys also produce important hormones that help regulate blood pressure, form bone, and control red blood cell production in bones.