Lab Tests & Imaging
The blood tests, urine tests, and scans we use to watch over your new kidney — what each one looks for, how to prepare, and why we ask for them so often in the first year.
Key Points
- Creatinine and eGFR are your kidney's report card — a small steady number is what we want; a sudden rise is what we react to.
- Always have the blood drawn before your morning Prograf or Neoral, never after — the number we want is the lowest level of the medicine in your blood.
- A urine protein-to-creatinine ratio on a morning sample is the simplest early-warning test for a kidney problem — bring a clean sample to clinic.
- Ultrasound of the new kidney is painless, uses no dye, and is the imaging test we lean on most often in the first year.
- Modern CT dye is much gentler than older types — when a scan is truly needed, hydration plus the lowest-dose protocol makes it safe; refusing a needed scan carries a bigger risk than the dye.
- Modern MRI dyes used today (Gadovist, Dotarem, ProHance) are safe when the graft is stable — tell the radiology team you have a transplant so they pick the right type.
- A biopsy of the new kidney is taken under local anaesthetic with a thin needle — uncomfortable but not painful, and the most reliable answer when blood numbers shift.
- Two newer blood tests — donor-specific antibodies and cystatin C — sometimes help the team detect rejection earlier. Your nephrologist orders them when needed; you do not have to ask for them between visits.
Clinical review
Reviewed by Dr Osama Ashry Gheith, Consultant Transplant Nephrologist. Kuwait Center for Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation (KCNKT). Mansoura Urology and Nephrology Center, Egypt. Reviewed 1 August 2026.
About the Transplant Patient Portal
This chapter is part of ASNRT's bilingual (Arabic / English) transplant patient-education portal — 14 clinical chapters covering kidney transplantation from preparation through long-term follow-up, plus decision-aid tools for Ramadan fasting, drug-food interactions, and red-flag symptom triage.
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