Kidney Transplant is an organ transplant of a healthy kidney from a donor into a patient with kidney failure (end-stage kidney disease); causing harmful waste builds up in the body.
Updated at 2/5/2024
When kidneys lose their filtering ability, harmful levels of fluid and waste accumulate in the body, as a result, we’ll see a rise in blood pressure which causes kidney failure (end-stage kidney disease). The end-stage renal disease occurs when the kidneys have lost about 90% of their ability to function normally.
Kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on each side of the spine just below the rib cage, with the main function of filtering and removing waste, minerals, and fluid from the blood by producing urine. Kidney transplant surgery is done to place a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor into a person with kidney failure. In case of kidney failure, harmful waste builds up in the body, which leads to:
Fluid buildup (edema)
Salts and acids in the blood getting out of balance
Decreased red blood cells
Weak bones
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on each side of the lower abdomen near the back. Your kidneys are required to filter waste products and chemicals in the blood and filter out excess fluid to form urine. If the kidneys lose their ability, waste products can build up, which is potentially life-threatening. With kidney disease, these filters become damaged, and the kidneys lose their filtering abilities. This means high and life-threatening levels of waste products and chemicals in the body. When the kidneys have lost around 90% of their filtering ability, the person is said to have end-stage kidney disease. End-stage chronic kidney disease or kidney failure is the most common reason to need a kidney transplant. Common causes of end-stage kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, blockages in the arteries that bring blood to the kidneys, polycystic kidney disease, congenital problems in the development of kidneys, and disease of the immunity such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These are the signs of kidney failure:
Swelling of the hands, feet, and face (edema)
Headaches (due to high blood pressure)
Seizures
Pale skin color (due to low iron)
Coffee colored urine
Chronic bad breath that cannot be freshened by brushing your teeth
Depression
Fatigue
Itchy skin
A kidney transplant, if possible, is usually the preferred option because it is much less inconvenient than having dialysis.
Although kidney failure may mean difficulty with life, not everyone who has kidney failure or end-stage chronic kidney disease is eligible for a kidney transplant. To be eligible for a kidney transplant, you must be well enough to cope with the surgery and aftercare, and the transplant needs to have a good chance of success. However, some medical conditions may prevent a person from being eligible for undergoing a kidney transplant surgery. These are the reasons why someone cannot have a kidney transplant:
If they are too ill or frail to cope with the surgery and aftercare
If they had recently had cancer, a serious infection, a heart attack, or experienced a stroke
If they may struggle to take the immunosuppressant medicines after having a kidney transplant surgery
Patients with certain medical conditions, such as active infections, severe heart disease, or active cancer, may not be eligible for a kidney transplant. If your kidney doctor feels a transplant is too risky, they might advise that you stay on dialysis or take medicines to control your symptoms. It is important to discuss your options with your doctor and kidney team to find out what treatment is best for you.
A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure done to place a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly. The most common reason for a kidney transplant is end-stage kidney disease or kidney failure. To be eligible for a kidney transplant, the recipient must have long-term kidney disease, be mentally & physically well enough to cope with major surgery, and the transplant needs to have a good chance of success. These are the medical conditions you need to have to qualify for a kidney transplant surgery:
Experiencing end-stage renal failure and being on dialysis.
Having late-stage chronic kidney disease, approaching the need for dialysis.
Having a life expectancy of at least five years.
Having a full understanding of postoperative instructions and care.
However, some medical conditions may prevent a person from being eligible for a kidney transplant. These medical conditions include:
Advanced age.
Severe heart disease.
Active or recently treated cancer.
Dementia or poorly controlled mental illness.
Alcohol or drug abuse.
Any other factor that could affect the ability of a patient to safely undergo the procedure and take the medications needed after a transplant to prevent organ rejection.
Patients can usually return to their normal routine within 8 weeks of receiving the transplant. They should avoid lifting heavy objects or exercising until the wound is healed, which takes about 6 weeks.
If you are hoping to receive a kidney from an organ donor who has died, you must be put on a waiting list. This list may require extensive testing to qualify you for a spot. A team including a transplant surgeon, a transplant nephrologist, a social worker, and a psychologist will carry out the evaluation process for a kidney. These evaluations include:
Mental health evaluation: Stress, financial issues, and support from family members can play a great role in the outcome of a transplant, therefore a psychologist and social worker will carry out these evaluations for the recipient as well as a living donor (in case of any).
Blood tests: Blood tests are required to find a good donor match, to check your priority on the donor list, and to help the chances that the donor organ will not be rejected.
Diagnostic tests: These tests determine your kidney and your overall health status. These tests may include X-rays, ultrasound, kidney biopsy, and dental exams. Women may get a Pap test, gynecology evaluation, and a mammogram.
Patient’s medical history, physical exam, and tests will be taken into consideration to determine their eligibility for kidney transplantation. Afterward, accepted candidates will be placed on the donor list. As a donor organ becomes available, patients will be informed to come to the hospital right away.
In case you have a living-related transplant donor, you can plan your surgery as convenient for you. The donor must have a compatible blood type and be in good health. A mental health check will be done to be sure the donor is comfortable with the decision.
During a kidney transplant surgery, a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor is surgically placed into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly. Patients will be put under general anesthesia for kidney transplant surgery. Your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels will be monitored throughout surgery. The surgery steps include:
Unless your kidneys are causing complications such as high blood pressure, kidney stones, pain, or infection, they are left in place. During the procedure, your surgeon will make an incision in the lower part of one side of your abdomen and place the new kidney into the body.
The blood vessels of the new kidney are attached to blood vessels in the lower part of the abdomen, just above one of your legs.
The new kidney's ureter — the tube that links the kidney to the bladder — is connected to the bladder.
The operation usually takes around 3 hours to complete. After the operation, the patient will be given medication to prevent their immune system from rejecting the new kidney. Most transplanted kidneys will start working within a week or two, but the patient may need to have dialysis until the transplanted kidney is working properly.
After a kidney transplant, the patient will need to take medications to help prevent their body from rejecting the donor's kidney. Patients will spend 6 weeks in recovery following a kidney transplant. These medications can cause a variety of side effects, including bone thinning and bone damage, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood lipids, and new-onset diabetes after transplant. Depending on the patient’s overall health, this timeline may vary. Kidney transplant recipients will be left with a scar about 2-5 inches long, on the right or left side of their lower abdomen. Having a healthy lifestyle (including proper diet, exercise, and weight loss if needed) after a kidney transplant goes a long way to minimize the risk of complications. Therefore, it's recommended that you:
Stop smoking if you smoke
Avoid alcohol use
Eat a healthy diet
Lose weight if you are overweight or obese
Take steps to reduce your risk of developing infections
The long-term success of a kidney transplant depends on many things, including being seen by the transplant team regularly, taking anti-rejection medications daily in the proper dose and at the right times, following the recommended schedule for lab tests and clinic visits, and following a healthy lifestyle.
Following a kidney transplant procedure, your body will recognize the new kidney as a foreign object, and try to attack or “reject” it. This is why patients are given medicine to prevent rejection following a kidney transplant surgery. The signs of kidney transplant rejection can vary depending on the severity of the rejection and can include fever, tenderness over the transplant site, decreased urine output, swelling, weight gain, and high blood pressure. However, many of these symptoms are nonspecific and can be caused by other problems that are not related to rejection. Nowadays, the success rate of kidney transplants is very high with few complications after transplantation. However, in such cases of kidney failure, patients can resume dialysis or consider a second transplant.
If rejection is suspected, the transplant team will perform tests to confirm the diagnosis and determine the severity of the kidney rejection. Treatment for rejection usually involves increasing the dose of immunosuppressant medications or adding new medications to the regimen. In some cases, a biopsy of the transplanted kidney may be necessary to determine the extent of the rejection. If caught early, rejection can usually be treated successfully. It is important to discuss your options with your doctor and kidney team to find out the best way to prevent rejection.
As with any surgery, there are risks associated with a kidney transplant. The risks of the procedure itself include bleeding, infection, and damage to nearby organs. The use of immunosuppressant medications to prevent rejection of the new kidney can also cause side effects such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and an increased risk of infections and certain types of cancer. Risks of a kidney transplant may be related to:
Risks related to the procedure itself
Risks related to the use of immunosuppressant medicines (which reduce the activity of your immune system)
Risks related to something going wrong with the transplanted kidney
In rare cases, the new kidney may not work immediately after the transplant, and the patient may need to continue dialysis until the new kidney starts working properly. The long-term success of a kidney transplant depends on many things, including being seen by the transplant team regularly, taking anti-rejection medications daily in the proper dose and at the right times, following the recommended schedule for lab tests and clinic visits, and following a healthy lifestyle. It is important to discuss the risks and benefits of a kidney transplant with your doctor and kidney team to determine if it is the right treatment for you.
Equipped hospitals and advanced specialized centers with experienced doctors and specialists are available in all medical treatment areas in Iran. Iran ranks first in the Middle East and fourth in the world in kidney transplantation with more than 30,000 kidney transplants in the last 20 years. Iran ranks first in the Middle East and third in the world in laparoscopic kidney transplantation. Shiraz is Iran's leading city in kidney transplant surgery, but keep in mind because this is an organ donation surgery, you must have your donor person traveling with you to Iran to have this surgery done. Also, good hotels and entertainment centers have made Iran an appropriate choice for patients who suffer from end-stage kidney disease.
Despite Iran’s competent medical professionals, renal transplant surgery in Iran costs are among the lowest in the world. A kidney transplant surgery package in Iran costs 17,000 – 25,000 USD with DocTour company. Our team will guarantee an affordable and convenient kidney transplant package in Iran. You can contact our team for free consultations and information.
As kidney transplant surgery is among the highly sensitive operations, going through the process of receiving the necessary approvals pre-operation may take a long time in most countries, but in Iran, the entire process will take 3-5 weeks:
pre-surgery preparations (including pre-surgery checkups, medical & legal approval) | 7 to 14 days |
Surgery Time | 4-5 hours or more |
Post-surgery hospitalization for the donor | 2-4 nights |
Post-surgery hospitalization for the recipient | 7-10 nights |
This is for cases where neither the donor nor the patient are found to have any underlying conditions. In this sense, the process in Iran is much quicker compared to most countries.
Although in most countries, the donor must be a blood relative, in Iran, the regulations are less strict and the donor and the recipient must be of the same nationality (accompanied by their donor), with no payment exchanges regarding donation.
As your donor must be the same nationality as yours, there are a few criteria to determine if a person is the right match for you. These are necessary factors for being someone’s match for a kidney transplant:
you can receive a kidney from compatible donors only:
| Recipient blood type | Donor blood type |
| O | O only |
| A | A and O |
| B | B and O |
| AB | All Blood types |
The Rh factor (+ or -) of the blood does not matter. If the donor’s blood type is compatible with you, the donor can take the next test: tissue typing.
If your blood types match, the next step is a tissue typing match called human leukocyte antigens (HLA). This test compares genetic markers which prolongs the likely lifetime of the transplanted kidney. A good match means your body is less likely to reject the kidney.
This includes mixing a small sample of your blood with the donor’s blood in the lab. This test will determine whether your blood’s antibodies will react against certain antibodies in the donor’s blood. If your blood serum destroys the donor’s cells, this is called a positive crossmatch, which means the transplant can’t be done. If you do so, the transplanted kidney will be rejected immediately. A negative match will mean that they are compatible and that your body is less likely to reject the donor’s kidney.
The following listed documents should be provided for a kidney transplant surgery:
Check-up & Approval | Necessary Tests |
Gastroenterologist |
|
Dentist |
|
Cardiologist |
|
ENT |
|
Gynecologist (for women) |
|
Medical History Form |
|
It’s highly recommended that a kidney donor have a single-arterial kidney as opposed to a two-arterial kidney.
Check-up & Approval | Necessary Tests |
Kidney Surgeon |
|
Medical History Form |
|
The medical approval process usually takes 7 to 14 working days. If any problems are found during any of the checkups, the duration will be extended to treat those problems. Upon completion of the medical approval process, the hospital will issue a letter to the legal authorities, requesting permission for the kidney transplant operation.
The embassy of the origin country as well as the Iranian Government’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education shall approve all the legal documents and issue a permission license for the kidney transplant surgery to take place.
Urine often flows at once. But sometimes the new kidney does not work well right away, so you may need dialysis for a short time.
Following transplant surgery, the kidney recipient’s body will detect the new organ as an external object, and command the immune system to destroy it, which is why they are prescribed immunosuppressants. One of the anti-rejection medications prescribed for a kidney transplant is Antithymocyte Globulin (Rabit or Horse Based).
Immunosuppressants will reduce the immune system’s function, thus preventing the kidney from being rejected and destroyed by the immune system. The recipient will be on a lifetime regimen of immunosuppressants. For kidney transplant patients, post-surgery care is vital.
FAQs
The cost for kidney transplant surgery may vary based on the patient's specific surgical needs, surgeons' fees, and anesthesia and surgery center or hospital fees.
Over the past 3 decades, the survival rate of patients undergoing renal transplantation has improved considerably. Nowadays, a survival rate of 95% at 1 year and around 90% at 3–5 years is to be expected.
98.11% success rate for living donor kidney transplant. 94.88% success rate for deceased donor transplant.
A successful kidney transplant may allow you to live life like before you ever had kidney disease. Studies show that people who receive a kidney transplant, live longer than those who remain on dialysis.
High blood pressure and diabetes are the two most common causes of kidney failure. Although kidneys may become damaged from physical injury, diseases, or other disorders.
Both kidney transplants and dialysis have some advantages and disadvantages, studies show, that patients with a successful kidney transplant live longer than those treated with dialysis.
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