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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffA kidney transplant is used to treat kidney failure, a condition in which your kidneys can function at only a fraction of normal capacity. People with end-stage kidney disease need either artificial blood filtering (dialysis) or a kidney transplant to stay alive.
Common causes of end-stage kidney failure include:
- Diabetes
- Chronic, uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Chronic glomerulonephritis — an inflammation and eventual scarring of the tiny filters within your kidneys (glomeruli)
Sometimes kidney failure can be managed with diet, medication and treatment for the underlying cause. If despite these steps, your kidneys still can't filter your blood properly, you might be a candidate for a kidney transplant. In fact, if you have no other life-threatening medical conditions, a kidney transplant could be a better option than dialysis because it may provide a better long-term quality of life.
- Kidney transplant. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozprint.cfm?id=86. Accessed July 12, 2009.
- Punch JD. Organ transplantation. In: Doherty GM, et al. Current Surgical Diagnosis & Treatment. 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2066708. Accessed July 12, 2009.
- Kidney failure: Choosing a treatment that's right for you. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/choosingtreatment/. Accessed July 13, 2009.
- Post TW, et al. Patient survival after renal transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 25, 2009.
- Humar A, et al. Transplantation. In: Brunicardi FC, et al. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=799511. Accessed July 13, 2009.
- Getting a new kidney. American Society of Transplantation. http://www.a-s-t.org/files/pdf/patient_education/english/AST-EdBroNEWKIDNEY-ENG.pdf. Accessed July 13, 2009.
- Coping with the physical side effects of anti-rejection medications. American Society of Transplantation. http://www.healthytransplant.com/index.php?q=quality_of_life/coping_with_the_physical_side_effect_of_anti-rejection_medications. Accessed July 13, 2009.
- Morgan GE, et al. Anesthesia for genitourinary surgery. In Morgan GE. Clinical Anesthesiology. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=893115. Accessed July 12, 2009.
- Shapiro R. Overview of the surgery of deceased donor renal transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 13, 2009.
- OPTN/SRTR annual report: Adjusted graft survival by year of transplant at 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years, living donor kidney transplants. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. http://www.ustransplant.org/annual_reports/current/509c_ki.htm. Accessed July 14, 2009.
- OPTN/SRTR annual report: Adjusted graft survival by year of transplant at 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years, deceased donor non-ECD kidney transplants. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. http://www.ustransplant.org/annual_reports/current/509a_ki.htm. Accessed July 14, 2009.
