Kidney Transplant Surgery

Kidney transplants are the most common type of organ transplant with more than 48,000 of these surgeries being performed in the United States in 2024. Kidney transplants work by transferring a donated kidney from a living or deceased donor into a patient who suffers from kidney failure or other kidney-related problems.

Kidney failure is commonly caused by diabetes or kidney disease which cause the kidneys to lose 90% of their filtering ability. Without this function, waste that is usually disposed of through urine accumulates in the body; this causes raised blood pressure which can lead to death. Problems like these affect 750,000 people in the United States per year. While eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly helps to maintain kidney health, age is an uncontrollable risk factor. The function of kidneys, along with other organs in the body, worsens as people age. This is due to nephrons (small filters in kidneys that filter out waste) becoming inactive or lost over time.

 One common misconception is that the patient's own kidney is replaced with the transplant kidney. However, the donated organ is actually connected through blood vessels in the lower abdomen which makes it easier to connect to the bladder. This eliminates the necessity of removing the original kidney.The patient's bladder is attached to the kidney’s ureter which allows urine to pass through and the kidney can perform its normal job. The patient's original kidneys are rarely removed unless directly harmful to the patient. 

However, receiving a kidney for transplant isn't easy and is distributed on a case-by-case basis. Donated kidneys are matched up with a patient based on multiple factors including the compatibility of the donation, life expectancy, and time spent on the waitlist. Unfortunately, some people have to wait years until they receive a compatible kidney donor.

Kidney transplants are a powerful innovation that gives people the strength and stability they need to go back to their normal life without having to worry about kidney failure or strict dietary restrictions. These operations have improved dramatically over the years with increased survival and success rates. With continued advancements in technology kidney transplants will continue to become increasingly successful and safe to treat millions of people worldwide.

Written by Jada Gadoros at Incisionary

APA References

professional, C. C. medical. (2025, May 8). Kidney Transplants. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22537-kidney-transplant 

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2025, January 31). Kidney transplant. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/kidney-transplant/about/pac-20384777#:~:text=Kidney%20transplant-,During%20kidney%20transplant%20surgery%2C%20the%20donor%20kidney%20is%20placed%20in,is%20joined%20to%20the%20bladder. 

Understanding kidney failure. Cleveland Clinic. (2025, June 2). https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17689-kidney-failure 

Kidney failure risk factor: Age. National Kidney Foundation. (2024, August 12). https://www.kidney.org/kidney-failure-risk-factor-age#:~:text=But%20as%20we%20get%20older,well%20our%20kidneys%20are%20working).