A Short Review of Kidney Transplant in India

A body of human being consist of two bean-shaped organs knows as the kidneys, situated on each side of the lower abdomen near the back. There are millions of minute filters called as nephrons, work for purifying the blood in the body. They filter the blood impurities and eliminate it in the form of urine. However, the changing lifestyle and unhealthy diet have widely affected the health of people. And the figures can really make anyone shocked that around 90000 thousand of people are on waiting for the kidney transplant in India. Patients are prioritized on the basis of their blood type, since how long they have been on the waiting list, immune system activity, and other medical factors and as a result, more than 70% of the patients on a waiting list are living on dialysis. However, transplant is associated with more health benefits than the dialysis in terms of:

• Better quality of life
• Less dietary restrictions
• Lower risk of death
• Low cost of the treatment

What causes kidney disease or failure?

Sepsis – A person’s immune system is overwhelmed from infection and can shut down the kidneys by causing inflammation. This generally does not cause with just urinary tract infections.

Medications – Taking some kind of medications are toxic including:

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc.)
• Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid)
• Antibiotics like Tobramycin, aminoglycosides gentamicin (Garamycin)
• Medications containing Iodine such as those vaccinated for radiology dye studies

Rhabdomyolysis – The condition occurs when there is significant muscles breakdown and this damaged or broken muscle fibers block the filtering parts of the kidneys. Severe muscle injury can occur due to crush injuries, trauma, and burns.

Hence, various diseases can require a patient to undergo the kidney transplant in India; however, there are some signs and symptoms which indicate that a patient needs a transplant surgery to improve the quality of life.

• Shortness of breath
• Lethargy
• Generalized swelling (edema)
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Generalized weakness due to anemia
• Fatigue
• Metabolic acidosis
• Lethargy
• High blood potassium (hyperkalemia)
• Congestive heart failure
• Ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation
• Increased level of urea in the blood (uremia) that may cause Tobrain encephalopathy, low calcium blood levels (hypocalcemia), or pericarditis (inflammation of the heart lining).

Hence, to prevent the conditions from getting worse, it is suggested to undergo the kidney transplant in India to avoid further deterioration of renal function. When cured, the kidneys works effectively just like before the disease and also, improves and extends the quality of life.

The Author is associated with the Kidney Total Care India, a team of kidney transplant specialist in India. He has written many articles on kidney transplant, stone removal, dialysis etc.