Transplant Surgery - Renal
Transplanation is the process of taking cells, tissues or organs
from a live or recently deceased donor and placing them into
another individual in order to save life, as in a heart transplant,
or to improve the quality of life, for example a corneal
transplant.
Renal transplantation is an accepted treatment for patients in
end stage renal failure, eliminating the need for
haemodialysis.
A biologically compatible donor will need to be found and
unfortunately there is usually a long wait for donor organs to
become available. It may however be possible for the patient to
receive a kidney from a living relation if a suitable match can be
found.
Transplantation of the kidney obviously involves major surgery,
and following the operation the recipient will require life-long
immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of the transplanted
organ.
Kidney transplantation is now a relatively common procedure and
the results are usually excellent, dramatically improving the
patient's health and quality of life.