Transplantation is surgery that places a healthy kidney from one person (the donor) into a person with kidney failure (recipient). Only one kidney is needed for a transplant since a person can maintain a healthy life with one kidney.
The new kidney is usually placed in the lower abdomen near the hip bone. The patient’s own kidneys are often left in place but, in some cases, one or both might be removed before transplantation.
After a successful transplantation, the new kidney can do everything a healthy kidney can do, and the patient no longer needs dialysis. There are two sources of kidneys for transplants – living and non-living donors. A living donor may or may not be a relative of the patient. Most kidneys come from non-living donors. To obtain such a transplant, patients are put on a waiting list for a kidney at a transplant center or organ bank.
It is very important for the donor’s blood and tissue to closely match the recipients. This helps prevent the body’s immune system from rejecting the new kidney. Rejection means that the body’s own immune system attacks the new kidney. To prevent rejection, the patient needs to take special drugs called immunosuppressants for the rest of his/her life. If rejection does take place, the transplanted kidney may need to be removed and the patient has to return to dialysis