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Kidney Transplant
What is a kidney transplant?
Who needs a transplant?
How can I get a transplant?
How should I take care of my new kidney?
More Information
What is a kidney transplant?
A kidney transplant is when a healthy kidney and ureter from someone else is put into your body. This is done when your kidneys fail. The new kidney will help take over the job of
A Kidney Transplant
your diseased kidneys.
Who needs a transplant?
If your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to live. Dialysis is a way to clean your blood using a machine or special fluid. Many people prefer to have a transplant instead of dialysis. If you have a working transplant, you will not need dialysis. Your doctor can help you decide what treatment is best for you. You can also:
Click here to learn more about hemodialysis.
Click here to learn more about peritoneal dialysis.
How can I get a transplant?
Talk to your doctor about whether kidney transplant is a good treatment for you. A kidney transplant must come from someone with healthy kidneys. This person may be living or may have just died.
If you get a transplant from a living donor, that person can be a family member, a friend or even a stranger. This can happen because each person only needs one healthy kidney to live. Both you and the kidney donor will be tested to make sure that you are a close match and healthy enough for the operation.
To get a transplant from someone who has just died, you will need to be tested first. This makes sure that your transplant is a good match for you and that you are healthy enough for the operation. Once the testing is done, you will be put on a transplant waiting list until a matching kidney is ready for you.
For more information about the transplant waiting list, visit the United Network for Organ Sharing's Transplant Living website.
How should I take care of my new kidney?
A kidney transplant is a treatment, not a cure.
After you get a transplant, there is still a chance that your body will reject the new kidney. This can happen because your body knows that the kidney came from someone else. If your body rejects the new kidney, it will not work. This means that you would need to go back on dialysis. You may still be able to get another kidney transplant in the future.
To help keep your body from rejecting your new kidney, you will need to take anti-rejection medicines (also called immunosuppressants). These medicines make your immune system less active so that your body will not try to fight off the new kidney. It is very important to take these medicines just how your doctor tells you. If you have a problem with side effects or with taking your medicines, talk to your doctor.
You can also help to protect your new kidney if you:
More Information
National Institutes for Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases
http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/transplant/index.htm
American Association of Kidney Patients
http://www.aakp.org/transplant-information/
National Kidney Foundation
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozTopic.cfm?topic=3
Transplant Living
http://www.transplantliving.org/
United Network for Organ Sharing
http://www.unos.org
Updated 1/22/2008
Images courtesy of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, www.niddk.nih.gov. | 
