For most people, rejection can be stopped with special anti-rejection medicines. How soon you can return to work depends on your recovery, the kind of work you do, and your other medical conditions. Many people can return to work eight weeks or more after their transplant. Your transplant team will help you decide when you can go back to work.
People who have not had satisfactory sexual relations due to kidney disease may notice an improvement as they begin to feel better. In addition, fertility the ability to conceive children tends to increase. Men who have had a kidney transplant have fathered healthy children, and women with kidney transplants have had successful pregnancies. Women should avoid becoming pregnant too soon after a transplant.
Most centers want women to wait a year or more. All pregnancies must be planned. Certain medications that can harm a developing baby must be stopped six weeks before trying to get pregnant. Birth control counseling may be helpful. Be sure to use protection during sexual activity. In general, transplant recipients should eat a heart-healthy diet low fat, low salt and drink plenty of fluids.
If you have diabetes or other health problems, you may still have some dietary restrictions. A dietitian can help you plan meals that are right for you. Finding a Kidney. Where do donated kidneys come from? A donated kidney may come from someone who died and donated a healthy kidney. A person who has died and donated a kidney is called a deceased donor. Donated kidneys also can come from a living donor.
This person may be a blood relative like a brother or sister or non-blood relative like a husband or wife. They can also come from a friend or even a stranger. When a kidney is donated by a living person, the operations are done on the same day and can be scheduled at a convenient time for both the patient and the donor. A healthy person who donates a kidney can live a normal life with the one kidney that is left.
But the operation is major surgery for the donor, as well as the recipient. As in any operation, there are some risks that you will need to consider. Kidneys from living or deceased donors both work well, but getting a kidney from a living donor can work faster and be better. A kidney from a living donor may last longer than one from a deceased donor.
To get a deceased donor kidney, you will be placed on a waiting list once you have been cleared for a transplant. It can take many years for a good donor kidney to be offered to you.
From the time you go on the list until a kidney is found, you may have to be on some form of dialysis. Your transplant center should know how to reach you at all times. Once a kidney become available, the surgery must be done as soon as possible. A disadvantage of living donation is that a healthy person must undergo surgery to remove a healthy kidney. The donor will need some recovery time before returning to work and other activities. However, recent advances in surgery often called minimally invasive or laparoroscopic surgery allow for very small incisions.
This means shorter hospital stays and recovery time, less pain, and a quicker return to usual activities. Living donors often experience positive feelings about their courageous gift. The living donor will not pay for anything related to the surgery. However, neither Medicare nor insurance covers time off from work, travel expenses, lodging, or other incidentals. Donors may be eligible for sick leave, state disability, and benefits under the federal Family Medical Leave Act.
In addition, federal employees, some state employees, and certain other workers may be eligible for 30 days paid leave. What else can I do? You should learn as much as you can by reading and talking to your healthcare team, as well as patients who already have kidney transplants. To obtain a free copy of this brochure, call Kidney transplant surgery is done so that a healthy kidney donor kidney can do what your diseased kidney can no longer do.
Kidney transplant is used when you have severe chronic kidney disease renal failure that cannot be reversed by another treatment method. You will not be able to have this surgery if you have an active infection, another life-threatening disease such as cancer, or severe heart or lung disease. If you have severe chronic kidney disease and choose to have a kidney transplant, you may live longer than if you choose only to treat your kidney disease with dialysis alone.
In the past, transplants using a kidney from a first-degree relative, such as your father, mother, brother, or sister, were the most successful. But with modern anti-rejection drugs, kidneys from people you are not related to work well, too.
Transplants from living donors or from deceased donors can succeed. The risks of having a kidney transplant include:. Kidney transplant may be a better treatment for you than dialysis, because survival rates are better after transplant. You will also be able to live a more normal life, because you won't have to have dialysis.
There is often a long wait before you receive a donor kidney. And there is no guarantee that the transplant will be successful. Fewer complications occur in people who are good candidates for surgery and who do not have other serious medical conditions, such as unstable coronary artery disease or cancer, that may limit their life expectancy. Not everyone is able to have a kidney transplant. You will not usually have a kidney transplant if you have an active infection or another life-threatening disease, such as cancer or significant heart or lung disease.
After having a kidney transplant, you will have to take medicines that suppress your immune system anti-rejection or immunosuppressive medicines to help prevent your body from rejecting the new kidney.
Because these medicines weaken your immune system, you will have an increased risk for serious infections. There is also the chance that your body may still reject your new kidney even if you take these medicines.
If this happens, you will have to start dialysis and possibly wait for another kidney transplant. Immunosuppressive medicines also increase your risk of other diseases, such as skin cancer and lymphoma. You have a greater risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cataracts, and inflammation of the liver cirrhosis if you are taking these medicines. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: Anne C. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.
Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Learn how we develop our content. During surgery, the new kidney is placed in position. Your existing kidneys are not usually removed. Sometimes, if you have large polycystic kidneys, one may be removed to make space for the transplant. The operation usually takes 3 to 4 hours with variable hours of recovery.
The new kidney is connected to your bladder so urine can flow, and a tube or catheter is placed in your bladder for up to 5 days after which it's removed. You may come out of the operation with tubes at the operation site a drain or a catheter in your bladder. Some kidneys start to work straight away, but others may take a few days or weeks. You'll be in hospital for about a week, depending on how quickly you recover from the surgery.
The transplants kidney will be closely monitored with blood tests and scans. You may also be required to undergo a transplant biopsy where they take a small sample of the tissue. You will need ongoing frequent monitoring of blood tests, blood pressure, drug levels and your health. Initially this will be very frequent daily and over time will become less frequent depending on your progress.
Be prepared to come into the hospital daily after discharge. You'll take medications, for the life of the transplanted kidney, to stop your body from rejecting it. These medication can make you more prone to serious illnesses such as infections and cancers. Sometimes a kidney stops working because people stop taking these medications, so it's incredibly important that you take them regularly and a s prescribed. Along with general health and fitness, your kidney will last longer if you follow advice about caring for your kidney.
We welcome you to call our Kidney Helpline on for additional support. Before you decide to have a transplant, it's important to talk to your doctor and understand the risks. You might also find the resources below useful. With roughly 1, people waiting for a kidney transplant at any one time, and an average wait time of 2.
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