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I have been diagnosed with end stage renal disease. Is there any other treatment besides a kidney transplant? |
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Dialysis and transplant are the only two treatments available for end stage |
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What is the purpose of kidney transplantation? |
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Kidney transplantation surgically places a healthy kidney from another person into your body. The donated kidney does enough of the work that your two failed kidneys used to do to keep you healthy and symptom free. |
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Who is a candidate for kidney transplantation? |
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It is the treatment of choice for people with kidney failure who have been evaluated by the renal transplant team and found to be eligible for the procedure |
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What is a perfect match kidney? |
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Usually, a perfect match is from a brother or sister. |
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The chance of getting a perfect match from a living-related brother or sister is higher than from other related or non-related living donors. |
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Is a kidney transplant a good option? |
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Dialysis can be done for as long as it takes to find a kidney donor but the best long-term option is a successful transplant. |
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Who donates kidneys for transplantation? |
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There are two sources for kidney transplants.
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A living donor |
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Non-living donor |
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Patients who have had kidneys donated from living donors usually enjoy higher success rates than those who receive organs from non-living donors, since there is less chance for rejection. |
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Are there age restrictions for kidney transplant recipients? |
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There are no strict age restrictions for kidney; |
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However, patients over 65 years must be in relatively good health other than the kidney disease for which they are undergoing a transplant. |
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How do I know if I am eligible for a transplant? |
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There are several considerations that determine if and when a patient is eligible for a kidney transplant.
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Typically they will be transplanted when their function is close to 10% of normal.
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Prospective transplant recipients undergo a medical evaluation, to determine whether they can successfully tolerate the surgery and the concomitant immunosuppression.
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Generally, transplantation will not be considered in a patient whose underlying medical condition includes an uncontrolled malignancy or an expected survival of less than five years. |
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How long after I am diagnosed with Kidney Failure should I have a transplant? |
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There is no time limit to having a kidney transplant, some people stay on haemodialysis till the end of their lives. |
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What are the risks of having a transplant? |
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The risks and possible complications of transplant are similar to those associated with any surgical procedure. |
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Do I need to find my own donor? |
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Yes. Patients are encouraged to look for potential donors from among family, friends and acquaintances. Some patients have received kidneys from neighbors, church members or people in the community who heard of their need for a kidney. |
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Does my donor have to be a blood relative? |
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No. A living kidney donor may be a relative or a person who is not related to the recipient. |
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In the case of a non-relative, it is best if the donor has an emotional relationship with the recipient. |
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How long do I have to find a 'donor' kidney? |
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There is no time limit to finding a kidney transplant donor. |
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How do you determine if someone's kidney will be a match? |
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Donors and recipients are matched based on their blood type and whether the recipient has antibodies that would react with and damage the donor's kidney. |
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What Does "Tissue Typing" Mean? |
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For your new kidney to work properly, you and the donor's kidney must be "compatible." To determine compatibility, three tests are done:
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ABO (blood type) Compatibility
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Crossmatch Compatibility
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Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) Tissue Typing |
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What Happens During the Transplant Evaluation? |
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The transplant evaluation consists of a review of your medical records and a complete physical by the transplant team.
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You will have a chest X-ray and ECG.
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Blood work will be drawn for routine studies and infectious disease testing.
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You will be given information concerning the transplant process, and have an opportunity to ask questions.
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You are encouraged to learn as much as possible about transplantation before making a decision about having a kidney transplant.
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The members of the transplant team will explain the benefits and risks of transplantation.
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After your evaluation, members of the transplant team will meet to review your case. |
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They will decide as a group if further testing is necessary before any decision regarding transplantation can be reached. |
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How much does a transplant cost? |
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Again, this will vary from person to person but on average it costs between three million and five million Naira (N3, 000, 000 – N5, 000,000) in Nigeria |
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Can I live normally with only one kidney? |
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People can be born with only one kidney and live a normal life. |
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What are the risks of having a transplant? |
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The risks and possible complications of transplant are similar to those associated with any surgical procedure. |
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Is there anything I can do to better prepare my body for a kidney transplant? |
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To prepare yourself for a kidney transplant, you should try and be in the best possible general health.
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That includes an ideal body weight, watching your diet and exercising if possible |
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How long will the recipient be in the hospital? |
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The average hospital stay for transplant recipients is about seven days. However, this can vary considerably from four days to three weeks, depending on many factors. |
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How long is the recovery period for the recipient after transplant? |
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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. |
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Why does the recipient need to be on medications after the transplant? |
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Anti-rejection medications are designed to suppress, or disable, a person’s immune system so that the transplanted organ will not be rejected |
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Will I be on medications for a long time after the transplant? |
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Transplant patients generally start out with six to eight medications in addition to their anti-rejection medications.
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By six months, they generally take two to three per day. |
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Eventually, patients are required to take only their anti-rejection medication for the rest of their life. |
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What are the side effects of the medications? |
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Side effects vary from minimal and tolerable to more severe.
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Side effects are discussed with the recipient before and after transplant.
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Dosages and side effects are closely monitored by the transplant team and adjusted accordingly |
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What care & testing can the patient expect after being released from the hospital? |
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A patient's blood test and other lab results are monitored very closely in the months immediately after transplant.
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For the first four months, blood will be drawn twice a week. After four months, blood is drawn twice a month.
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After one year, tests are needed only once a month.
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Patients must return to the clinic for routine follow-up.
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The frequency of the follow-up appointments decreases as a patient gets farther away from transplant. |
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How long can patients live with a kidney transplant? |
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The donor kidney lasts up to 10 years on average but there are some patients who have had transplants for up to 20 years. |
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What happens if the new kidney is rejected? |
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If the transplant fails the patient can be put on dialysis again until a new donor kidney is found. |
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What are Some Possible Post-transplant complications? |
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Infections |
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Delayed graft function
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High blood pressure |
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Weight gain
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Rejection
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Cancer |
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What is Rejection? |
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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. |
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