What happens during a kidney Transplant procedure?

There is a huge need for organ transplants in India. As per a report in India, around 5, 00,000 people have urgent requirements for immediate organ transplantation in order to save their lives from organ damage.

Organ transplantation is considered one of the most crucial achievements in medical history. Different parts of the body that can be transplanted and the laws that govern organ transplantation.

Organ transplantation gives hope to thousands of people suffering from organ failure. There are different types of organ transplants available nowadays like- Heart transplant, Lung transplant, Liver transplant, Pancreas transplant, Cornea transplant, Trachea transplant, Kidney transplant, Skin transplant, Vascular tissues transplant, etc.

Kidney Transplantation/Renal transplantation:

Kidney transplantation is a surgical process of placing a healthy kidney from a donor into the recipient’s body, a patient whose kidneys no longer function properly or having irreversible advanced kidney disease or suffering from end-stage renal disease. This process is also known as Renal Transplantation.

At the time of Kidney Transplantation Surgery, the donor’s kidney is placed into the patient's body and new kidney's blood vessels are connected to the lower abdomen's blood vessels and ureter of the new kidney is attached to the bladder. The new kidney filters blood and starts to produce urine as well. To stop the body from rejecting the new kidney proper medications are given.

Only one healthy kidney can replace two failed kidneys but the compatibility of blood group must be checked before processing for a Kidney Transplant Treatment. 

After the successful procedure of Kidney Transplantation, the graft starts functioning immediately and improves the quality of life that lessens the risk of death than maintaining dialysis lifelong.

Most patients experience that Kidney Transplant Surgery made them feel better as it has given them another chance of spending time with their family, traveling and to pursue their hobbies as well as returning to work. It also saved their time and money spent on various therapies for dialysis.

Patients with Kidney Transplants typically have a longer life expectancy than patients who had to stay on dialysis.

NU Hospitals offer the best kidney transplantation treatment (renal transplants) with comprehensive kidney care post-surgery. It is authorized to perform both kidney transplants as well as cadaveric transplants. NU Hospitals Bengaluru has a team of expert surgeons with international standards to completely take care of your Kidney Transplantation and ensure a healthy recovering.

Find more info to get an appointment.

How are Diabetes Mellitus and Kidney Related?

Diabetes Mellitus (DM), the commonest form of diabetes can affect kidneys in several ways – it can predispose to urinary tract infection, it can cause the reduced blood supply to the kidney by narrowing of the blood vessels supplying the kidneys and it can cause the death of a part of the kidney called papilla. Most importantly it can interfere with the function of filters within the kidneys (called glomeruli) resulting in progressively increasing protein leak in urine (proteinuria) and irreversible loss of kidney function over a period of several years (diabetic nephropathy). All these effects can lead to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Rest of the discussion will focus predominantly on diabetic nephropathy as it is the commonest kidney involvement in DM.

How common is kidney failure due to diabetes mellitus?

DM is the commonest cause of CKD all over the world (and in India too). Around one-third of patients on dialysis for CKD have DM; also one third of patients having DM develop CKD.

How long does it take to cause kidney disease?

DM takes a minimum about 5 – 7 years to affect the kidney. The diagnosis of DM may be delayed if it is silent or not associated with the symptoms at the beginning; often we see patients with shorter duration of DM developing CKD related to DM.

What are the symptoms of kidney problem in a diabetic?

The early symptoms of kidney involvement in a diabetic patient are froth in urine and swelling of face, legs and abdomen. With worsening in kidney function, patients may have reduced urine output, increase in blood pressure, and loss of appetite, vomiting, tiredness, breathlessness and frequent episodes of low sugar (hypoglycemia). BUT PLEASE BE AWARE that the kidney involvement in a diabetic patient can be silent and all patients with DM should undergo periodic screening for urine and blood testing for proteinuria and serum creatinine. Diabetic eye disease (Diabetic Retinopathy) is invariably associated with diabetic nephropathy and patients who have diabetic retinopathy should undergo urine and blood tests for kidney disease.

How do you detect kidney damage?

Normally there is no protein leak in urine and the routine urine test will report this finding as nil or trace protein; DM over a period of years can cause closure of capillary loops within the filter units resulting first in progressively increasing proteinuria and subsequently progressive reduction in kidney function (kidney function can be calculated with certain mathematical formulae that require estimation of serum creatinine). It is possible to diagnose kidney involvement in DM at the earliest stage by doing urine test for microalbumin – this test will detect the presence of smallest quantities of albumin (a form of protein) even before routine urine test can detect its presence in urine.

What are the treatment options available once severe kidney failure happens?

Dialysis and Renal Transplantation are the available treatment options for patients with advanced CKD. There are two forms of dialysis: Hemodialysis (HD) and Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD).