KIDNEY KNOWLEDGE SERIES - (8)

KIDNEY TRANSPLANT (Contd)

Q:     How long is the recovery period for the recipient after transplant?

A:     The initial recovery time after the surgery is four to eight weeks. However, receiving a transplant carries a long-term commitment to ensure that the kidney continues to function. The recipient must be diligent in following the transplant team’s plan of post-operative care or the transplanted kidney may be rejected or lost due to other complications.

Q:     Why does the recipient need to be on medications after the transplant?

A:     Anti-rejection medications are designed to suppress, or disable, a person’s immune system so that the transplanted organ will not be rejected

Q:     Will I be on medications for a long time after the transplant?

A:     Transplant patients generally start out with six to eight medications in addition to their anti-rejection medications.

·        By six months, they generally take two to three per day.

·        Eventually, patients are required to take their anti-rejection medication for the rest of their life.

Q:     What are the side effects of the medications?

A:    

·        Side effects vary from minimal and tolerable to more severe.

·        Side effects are discussed with the recipient before and after transplant.

·        Dosages and side effects are closely monitored by the transplant team and adjusted accordingly

Q:     What kind of care and testing can the patient expect after being released from the hospital?

A:    

·        A patient's blood test and other lab results are monitored very closely in the months immediately after transplant.

·        Patients must return to the clinic for routine follow-up, this is very important.

·        The frequency of the follow-up appointments decreases as a patient gets farther away from transplant.

Q:     How long can patients live with a kidney transplant?

A:     The donor kidney lasts up to 10 to 12 years on average for Deceased kidney source, but 18 to 22 years for live donor source. However, the longest surviving transplanted kidney is about 45 years and this was performed between identical twins.

Q:     What happens if the new kidney is rejected?

A:     If the transplant fails the patient can be put on dialysis again until a new donor kidney is found.

Q:     What are Some Possible Post-transplant complications?

A:

1.     Infections

2.     Delayed kidney function

3.     High blood pressure

4.     Weight gain

5.     Rejection

6.     Cancer

Q:     What is Rejection?

A:    

·        Rejection is one of the most important concerns for renal transplant recipients.

·        Your body's immune system protects you from infection by recognizing certain foreign bodies, like bacteria and viruses, and destroying them.

·        Unfortunately, the immune system sees your new kidney as a foreign substance also.

·        It could be acute or chronic and despite efforts to prevent it, it may still occur.

·         Generally, rejection is treatable with medication and usually does not lead to loss of the kidney. Occasionally it does not respond to first line medication and there is need for second line medication. And very rarely the second line treatment fails and the transplanted kidney becomes irreversibly damaged and has to be removed.