FAQs about Kidney Transplant Procedure

When a doctor suggests a kidney transplant, it is majorly because a patient's kidney may have stopped functioning. The two basic options for treating kidney failure are dialysis and kidney transplantation. Either choice is a treatment, not a cure. The following FAQs about kidney transplantation will help in showing a clear picture.

How Do You Know If You Are at Risk for Kidney Disease?

To monitor the risk of kidney disease, you should consider the following factors:

• blood pressure, which should be checked at least once a year
• urine analysis, to check protein levels
• creatinine level in the blood

If these factors indicate a warning sign, there's a fair chance of kidney disease further leading to kidney failure.

What Leads to Kidney Transplantation?

When a doctor diagnoses an end-stage renal disease or kidney failure, they will discuss the treatment options. Kidney failure is a medical condition in which a patient's kidneys stop functioning. The treatment often includes both dialysis and kidney transplant. If after tests and screening, the patient is found eligible for a transplant, they will learn about the pros and cons of this treatment. Meanwhile, the patient will be treated with dialysis.

What Are the Types of Transplant?

Organs for kidney transplantation come from two sources: living donors and deceased donors. Therefore, the types of transplant include:

• Living donor kidney transplant - this transplant is a surgical process in which a healthy kidney from an alive donor is transplanted into the body of a recipient. A living donor can be a family member, friend or even a stranger.
• Deceased donor kidney transplant - it occurs when a kidney is taken from a deceased donor and is surgically transplanted into the body of a recipient. The deceased person’s family may give permission for organ donation. The permission can also be given the by deceased themselves before death by signing organ donor cards.

Why Is a Kidney Transplant Necessary?

A kidney transplant procedure is only necessary when a disease or injury leads to organ failure.

How Does a Kidney Transplant Differ from Dialysis?

During a dialysis procedure, a machine filters waste and extra fluid out of the blood. Similarly, the way kidneys perform the function. However, dialysis only filters the blood during a treatment session, not constantly like a kidney. Therefore, most people undergo dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant. On the other hand, a kidney transplant procedure involves transplanting a functioning human kidney to someone whose kidney has stopped working or is close to failing. A transplanted kidney functions like a kidney, a person has from birth. It constantly filters blood for waste and excess fluid.

How Do You Qualify for the Transplant Waiting List?

To qualify the kidney transplant waiting list, a prospective recipient must be comparatively healthy and not have cancer or any serious infection. A patient also must be able to comply with treatment and medication requirements. Each transplant program makes its own decision about whether to accept someone for a transplant. The standards and guidelines for accepting candidates may also vary from hospital to hospital. Therefore, if one center refuses to accept a candidate, a different center may accept them.

What Medical Conditions Might Rule You out of a Transplant List?

Each health care center sets its own guidelines for transplants. Some may have restrictions regarding age. Apart from this, the medical conditions that indicate ineligibility for kidney transplant procedure include:

• presence of life-threatening disease or condition, for instance, skin cancer, terminal infections, and uncorrectable heart disease
• not being healthy enough to survive an operation
• obesity (being overweight)
• smoking or substance abuse
• current life expectancy less than five years
• untreatable psychiatric illness
• lack of health insurance or medicare

Be sure to check with the transplant center of all of their procedures and rules.

What Is the Procedure of Kidney Transplant?

The kidney transplant procedure involves placing a healthy kidney into the body, to perform all the functions that a failing kidney cannot. Regardless of whether the kidney is received from a living or deceased donor, kidney transplant procedure involves local anaesthesia and treatment with anti-rejection drugs. A surgeon may make a small cut in the lower left side of the abdomen, and the kidney is placed into space. This allows the ureter to be accessed easily for connection to the bladder. The blood vessels of the donor's kidney are sewn to the recipient's blood vessels. Then, the surgeon connects the ureter (the tube that drains urine from the kidney) to the recipient's bladder and closes the cut. A recipient usually returns to their normal lifestyle in about 3 to 6 months.

Are There Any Possible Complications After a Kidney Transplant?

Complications following any type of surgical procedure usually happen. One of the most common complications of a kidney transplant is rejection. However, thanks to anti-rejection drugs, rejection episodes are less common and easily manageable. Other complication that may occur, include:

• immunosuppressant side effects
• an increased risk of infections
• weight gain
• acne
• abdominal pain
• an increased risk of diabetes
• high blood pressure
• shortness of breath
• coughing up yellow or green mucus
• flu-like symptoms such as diarrhea, tiredness, headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or body aches and pains
• mood swings
• thinning of the bones
• an increased risk of cancer, particularly skin cancer

What to Expect Post Kidney Transplant?

The new kidney starts working as soon as the blood flows through it. However, sometimes, it takes a few weeks. This is known as delayed graft function. Post-transplant, a recipient may return to a normal lifestyle and resume to normal activities. It is important to note that even though a recipient has no longer to go to dialysis, one should take proper care.

How to Ensure a Safer Transplant?

To ensure a safer and complication free transplant, a recipient must:

• stop consumption of all tobacco products including cigars, cigarettes, pipes, dip
• avoid alcohol
• take care of the infections, beforehand
• keep the weight under control. Surgical complications increase for patients who are overweight

What If the Transplant Doesn't Work? Can It Cause Death?

If post-transplant, the kidney still doesn't function, the recipient may start/resume dialysis or wait for another transplant.