Transplantation – Kidney Transplants and You
Kidney transplant is a treatment for end-stage kidney disease (also known as kidney failure). It is not a cure. A kidney transplant does potentially offer the kidney patient a longer, more active life without the need for ongoing dialysis treatment.
A kidney transplant involves placing a healthy kidney inside your body to do the work which your kidneys are no longer able to do. The surgery usually takes two to three hours and you spend one to two hours in recovery.
To Get a Transplant: Donor Health and Suitability for Living Donations
Both persons � the donor and the recipient � must be reasonably healthy for a transplant to take place. Recipients who are too sick to undergo surgery cannot receive a transplant. Donors must be reasonably healthy to be considered as suitable for an organ transplant surgery.
Living donors must undergo a series of tests to make sure that not only are they compatible, but that they are healthy enough to make the donation.
Recipients must be tested to ensure that their body can manage the surgery and there is a lower risk that their body will reject the transplant.
To Get a Transplant: Deceased Donations
Deceased donations begin with a potential donor choosing to register as a donor in your state registry. When your time comes, your kidney can be transplanted for someone who is waiting to receive life-saving kidney transplant.
Your details are matched in a national registry and the person who is most compatible and in a condition to receive the transplant, among other factors, is chosen to receive the donation.
Have questions? Learn more about kidney transplants
Donor and Recipient Care after Kidney Transplant
As part of the Ben Williams Foundation, we seek to help living donors and recipients alike after transplant surgery. Donors have made a strong choice to help and we want to make their recovery as easy as possible.
Volunteers are very important in our network. Join the Ben Williams Foundation and help us to make lives better for donors and recipients alike after kidney transplantation surgery. Click here to learn more about volunteering or click below to register as a volunteer.