Success Rates & Complications in Kidney Transplant What is kidney transplantation? Kidney transplantation is a surgical process of replacing the failed kidneys with a working kidney. During kidney transplant surgery, a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor is placed into a patient’s body whose kidneys are no longer functioning properly.
When is a kidney transplant needed? Kidney transplant is recommended when a person suffers from end-stage kidney failure. A kidney’s main function is to filter and remove waste from the blood through urine. When kidneys lose this filtering ability, toxic fluid and waste accumulate in the body. The other form of treatment for kidney failure is lifetime dialysis but a transplanted kidney does a better job of filtering wastes than dialysis.
Are kidney transplants safe? Kidney transplant surgery is generally considered safe. A successful kidney replacement depends on how healthy you were before the transplant and how well you take care of yourself after the transplant.
How risky is kidney transplant surgery? There are certain complications associated with a kidney transplant operation, including rejection of the new kidney, pain, difficulty in wound healing, bruising and risk of infections. Although, the rate of critical renal transplant complications has declined hugely in recent decades, kidney transplant surgery, like other transplant surgeries, is not totally risk-free.
What percentage of kidney transplants are successful? The success rate of kidney replacement treatment varies from 83% to 97% depending on multiple factors. Donor and recipient age and health conditions may have an impact on the renal transplant outcome.
What if a kidney transplant fails? Kidney transplantation can treat acute kidney disease and kidney failure, but some types of kidney disease may return after transplant. If a new kidney transplant fails, you can restart dialysis or consider a second transplant. Second transplants show similar graft survival as the primary transplants.