Kidney Transplant - What is a Kidney Transplant?
News Medical | Anaya Mandal, MD
A kidney transplant is an operation where a healthy kidney from one person (the donor) is transferred to a person who has little or no kidney function (the recipient).
Normal kidneys and their function
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on each side of the body, just below the ribcage. These organs work continuously to filter waste products from the blood and convert the waste into urine.
When is a kidney transplant needed?
Loss of kidney function means these waste products can build up in the body leading to life threatening complications. Normally a kidney can function with small amount of damage. With progressive damage it may reach a point of no return called “End Stage Renal Disease†or ESRD. This is also called chronic renal failure. This is the most common condition that may require a kidney transplant.
At initial phases before a donor kidney is available the functions of the kidney are replicated by an artificial blood filtering procedure called dialysis. But dialysis can be inconvenient, expensive and time-consuming and the treatment of choice for end stage chronic kidney disease remains kidney transplant.
Types of kidney transplant
There are two kidneys in the body and a person only needs one kidney to survive. Thus, unlike other organ donations like heart and liver, living donors may donate a kidney. This ideally should be a close relative so that the blood group and tissue types match. This type of donation is known as a living donation. A similar blood and tissue type ensures that there is less risk of the body rejecting the kidney.
Kidney donations are also possible from donors who have recently died. These may not match the recipient in tissue and blood group type and face the risk of being rejected by the body. The body perceives the new kidney as foreign object and mounts an immune attack against it. This can be suppressed by using long term immunity suppressing drugs.
A kidney transplant is an operation where a healthy kidney from one person (the donor) is transferred to a person who has little or no kidney function (the recipient).
Normal kidneys and their function
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on each side of the body, just below the ribcage. These organs work continuously to filter waste products from the blood and convert the waste into urine.
When is a kidney transplant needed?
Loss of kidney function means these waste products can build up in the body leading to life threatening complications. Normally a kidney can function with small amount of damage. With progressive damage it may reach a point of no return called “End Stage Renal Disease†or ESRD. This is also called chronic renal failure. This is the most common condition that may require a kidney transplant.
At initial phases before a donor kidney is available the functions of the kidney are replicated by an artificial blood filtering procedure called dialysis. But dialysis can be inconvenient, expensive and time-consuming and the treatment of choice for end stage chronic kidney disease remains kidney transplant.
Types of kidney transplant
There are two kidneys in the body and a person only needs one kidney to survive. Thus, unlike other organ donations like heart and liver, living donors may donate a kidney. This ideally should be a close relative so that the blood group and tissue types match. This type of donation is known as a living donation. A similar blood and tissue type ensures that there is less risk of the body rejecting the kidney.
Kidney donations are also possible from donors who have recently died. These may not match the recipient in tissue and blood group type and face the risk of being rejected by the body. The body perceives the new kidney as foreign object and mounts an immune attack against it. This can be suppressed by using long term immunity suppressing drugs.
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