About Kidney Transplantation
What a kidney transplant is, the difference between a living donor and a deceased donor, the work-up before the operation, and what happens on the day of surgery and the hours after.
Key Points
- A kidney transplant is the closest thing to natural kidney function — one healthy kidney from a donor replaces the work of two failing kidneys, and most patients come off dialysis the day of the operation.
- A kidney from a living donor lasts longer on average — about fifteen to twenty years — and the operation can be planned on a known date with a kidney that is never left without a blood supply for long.
- A kidney from a deceased donor lasts about ten to fifteen years on average — these are averages and the actual life depends on how well the medicines, the blood pressure, the sugar, and the follow-up visits are looked after.
- Before the operation, the laboratory compares your blood to the donor's tissue type — a physical crossmatch in the laboratory and a virtual crossmatch on the computer that checks for donor-specific antibodies (DSA). Both have to be reassuring before the operation is allowed to go ahead.
- The transplant work-up also includes blood and urine tests, heart and lung checks, dental and chest screening, vaccinations, and a meeting with the psychologist and the social worker so the whole picture is ready before the day of surgery.
- The operation takes about three to four hours under a general anaesthetic. The new kidney is placed in your lower belly on the right or the left side; the old kidneys usually stay where they are.
- In the first hours after surgery you are watched closely in the recovery area — when urine starts, the first doses of the immune-suppression medicines are given, and the family is allowed in once you are awake and stable.
- The transplant team plans every step ahead of time and walks you through it. There are no surprises on the day — every test, every medicine, and every signature has its place in the plan.
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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