A kidney transplant places a healthy donor kidney into your body to take over the job your own kidneys can no longer do. For most people with kidney failure, it’s linked to better quality of life and a lower long-term risk of death than staying on dialysis — though it isn’t a cure, and it isn’t right for everyone.
End-stage kidney disease (kidney failure), when dialysis is no longer enough to maintain quality of life, or eligibility for a preemptive transplant before dialysis is needed.
Surgical bleeding and infection, organ rejection, and side effects from lifelong anti-rejection medication. Risks are minimised through careful donor-recipient matching, thorough pre-transplant evaluation, and experienced transplant teams.
A multi-day transplant work-up — physical exam, imaging, blood and tissue typing, cardiac and cancer screening, and a psychosocial assessment — plus fasting before surgery per hospital protocol.
Frequent clinic visits in the first weeks after discharge, sometimes several times a week, tapering over several months; lifelong monitoring of kidney function, medication levels, and signs of rejection or infection.
Your two kidneys filter waste, extra fluid, and minerals out of your blood. When they lose most of that ability — a state doctors call kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease — waste builds up and becomes dangerous. A kidney transplant replaces that lost function with a single donated kidney, which is usually placed in your lower abdomen and connected to your own blood vessels and bladder; your own (failed) kidneys are normally left in place.
There are two donor pathways:
Surgeons perform a kidney transplant through an incision in the lower abdomen (traditional open surgery), and a growing number of transplant centers now offer minimally invasive robotic-assisted techniques for suitable patients, which use a smaller incision.
There’s no symptom checklist that means “time for a transplant” — that decision is made with your nephrologist based on lab results such as your eGFR, not how you feel day to day. That said, people are often living with some of the following when the conversation starts:
These are the conditions linked to this treatment in the directory. Your clinician decides whether treatment is appropriate using your symptoms, examination and test results.
Remember: These entries are not a diagnosis or a treatment recommendation. Discuss your symptoms and test results with a qualified clinician.
If some of this sounds familiar, it doesn’t automatically mean you need a transplant — many of these feelings have other, more manageable causes, and a simple blood test checking your eGFR and creatinine is usually the first step your clinician will take to see where things stand. Think of it as a check-in, not a verdict. If you’d like to talk it through with someone qualified, you can find a specialist and book a consultation whenever you’re ready.
Compared with a lifetime on dialysis, a successful kidney transplant is generally associated with meaningful gains in day-to-day life and long-term health:
The treatment has risks and trade-offs to discuss with your care team. The information below comes from this treatment’s data: surgical risks such as bleeding, infection at the incision site, and blood clots; organ rejection, where the immune system attacks the new kidney; and side effects from the anti-rejection medicines you’ll need long-term, which can include higher infection and cancer risk, high blood pressure, weight gain, and acne.
Who it may not suit: These are general cautions, not a personal verdict. A qualified clinician must assess your full medical picture before recommending or delaying treatment.
Longer-term possibilities to be aware of include:
New or severe symptoms require prompt medical advice. Do not wait for a routine appointment if you feel seriously unwell.
Specialists linked to this treatment in the KidneyGlobal directory. Review credentials and confirm availability directly before booking.
Verified kidney centres linked to this treatment in the KidneyGlobal directory.
No. It replaces lost kidney function with a working donor kidney, but you’ll still take daily anti-rejection medicine, attend regular check-ups, and manage your health carefully.
The operation itself typically takes around 3–4 hours, though your total time in the surgical suite, including anesthesia preparation, will be longer.
Usually not. Surgeons typically leave your own kidneys in place and add the donor kidney to your lower abdomen. Removal is only done in specific situations, such as infection or very large polycystic kidneys taking up space.
For most eligible people with kidney failure, research associates transplant with a lower long-term risk of death and better quality of life than long-term dialysis — but the surgery itself carries real short-term risks, which is why the eligibility evaluation exists.
Yes, for as long as the transplanted kidney is working. Stopping it without medical guidance puts the kidney at serious risk of rejection.
Yes, this is possible, whether from rejection, infection, recurrence of the original disease, or gradual decline over many years. If it happens, dialysis or another transplant may become options again.
