Kidney Transplant - Know The Risks & Procedure!

When function of both kidneys are lost, Renal transplantation is needed. Kidney transplantation is performed by making use of a donor kidney and replacing the diseased one with it. Kidney transplantations are not conducted on patients suffering from other severe infections or life threatening diseases such as cancer, major lungs or heart condition. Diabetic or obese people usually cannot donate their kidneys as they bear a risk of malfunctioning in future. 

Procedure of Kidney Transplant 

1. Kidney transplant surgery takes about 3 hours time. 
2. Tests are conducted to make sure tissue typing match with the new kidney. This decreases the chance of the body rejecting the donor kidney and causing serious complications. 
3. Thorough evaluation of the medical history is made for both the receiver and the donor. This is to make sure that the donor kidney is healthy, functional and free of disorders. 
4. The procedure of the surgery includes placing the donor kidney in the lower abdomen. The blood vessels, important arteries are connected to the donor kidney. The bladder will also be connected to the ureter from the donor kidney. 
5. The new kidney generally begins to function immediately after the surgery is completed successfully. 
6. The blood begins to flow through the kidney, and it begins to function normally. It filters the blood, collects the waste that is then passed through the bladder as urine. 
7. A patient who has had a kidney transplantation surgery will need to remain in the hospital for a few days under intense care and observation. 
8. Medications to prevent the body from rejecting the new kidney will be prescribed. It is important that you continue with these medicines for the rest of your life. 

Risks of Kidney Transplantation 

1. Rejection of the new kidney by the body. Acute rejection in the initial days of surgery can be treated with medications and injections. However, chronic rejection is a serious condition that causes gradual loss of kidney function. 
2. There can be severe infections caused by the immunosuppression. It can also occur during the course of surgery, due to the inclusion of foreign tissues 
3. Reaction to the drugs or anaesthesia used for the purpose of transplantation surgery 
4. Excessive bleeding or haemorrhage caused due to injuries during surgery 
5. Any kind of leakage from the ureter or blocking of the ureter tubes, causing an obstruction in the smooth functioning of kidneys 6.    The anti rejection drugs may lead to a decline in calcium, causing osteoporosis and other calcium deficiency infirmities 
6. Fluctuations in blood sugar, blood pressure levels 
7. Increased risk of cancer 
8. Infections in internal organs 
9. Obesity

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!