Kidney Transplantation

For Transplanatation where do kidneys come from ? :

Kidneys come from two sources : a non-living donor (cadaver) or a living donor.

• Cadaver kidney transplantation
• Living related kidney transplantation
   

Transplantation :

Transplantation is a process in which healthy human kidney is implanted into a patient who has developed ESRD. An individual interested in receiving a transplant must be in good overall health and other factors such as age and emotional outlook must be considered. The details about the risks of surgery, success rates, costs and side effects of medications will have to be discussed with the kidney doctor.

Many patients who receive a kidney transplant do not need to have their own kidneys removed. However, long-standing problems such as chronic infection of the kidneys or uncontrolled hypertension may require removal of kidneys prior to transplantation.

Success rates for transplantation continue to improve with advances in technique and immunology. Unfortunately, some patients will still lose their transplanted kidney. For these patients it is important to remember that rejecting the first kidney does not indicate that another transplant will also be unsuccessful. Also, dialysis remains an alternative if transplant fails.

After the transplant :

There are two important complications after transplantation about which one should be aware :

Rejection : Our bodies are protected by immune system that recognizes and attacks foreign substances. It is this system that protects us by attacking countless microorganisms that are present in our atmosphere. The same immune system when it recognizes the transplanted organ as a foreign substance attacks it and tries to destroy it. This is called rejection.

To prevent rejection, the immune system of the recipient has to be suppressed. This is done by immunosuppressive medicines. Since the threat of rejection is always present, these medications must be taken for as long as transplant functions.
 
Infection : Taking immunosuppressive medicines prevents rejection on one hand but decreases the resistance to infection on the other hand. Thus it is important for transplant patient to contact his/her physician if fever develops which is a sign of infection.

Source : Narmada Kidney Foundation

http://www.narmadakidney.org/INDEX.ASP?PAGE=TRANSPLANT