Kidney Transplants: Procedure, Risks and costs

Our body has a complex mechanism which converts the food we eat into energy. But the food that is not used up, turns into waste and stays in our bowel as well as blood. There is where our kidney comes into the picture. They are two fist-sized, bean-shaped organs below the ribs towards the centre of the back. They function to expel the liquid waste from the blood out of the body through urine. They are responsible for maintaining a balance of various salts and other substances in the blood.

When the Nephrons present in kidney get damaged, they lose their filtering capabilities this leads to a condition of kidney disease. In such condition, if the waste substance remains in the blood and circulate in the body it becomes harmful. Therefore it is important to take kidney diseases seriously and treat them, the diseases have various stages and when the 90% of the kidney is damaged and couldn’t function it is called end-stage kidney disease. Here a person needs regular dialysis and only recovery option left is a transplant.

What is Kidney Transplant?

It is a procedure, wherein the patient’s dysfunctional kidney is replaced by healthy kidney from a donor. This kidney can be from a living donor who is related to the patient and is willing to donate or a donor which is not essentially related to the patient but yet is willing to donate, the kidney can also be sourced from a deceased donor who was willing to donate. The transplanted kidney then takes over the functions of both the damaged kidneys.

A kidney transplant is only pursued after carefully evaluating the donor, various psychological, physical factors and diagnostics are considered. These tests increase if the donor is unrelated to the patient, as it involves determining whether the donor’s kidney would be a good match. The patient is also supposed to be in constant touch with the doctor and follow all the suggestions and measures prescribed to stay healthy before the transplant. Only when the doctors feel confident about the patient’s and donor’s condition, they start other procedures required. The patient and donor are usually admitted around six to eight hours prior to the transplant, this duration may vary from hospital to hospital. The transplant is carried out and the new kidney is placed in the lower right or left side of the abdomen and connected to blood vessels nearby.

What are the risks involved?

There are few risks involved which patients may consider knowing about. The risks range from bleeding, infections, to breathing problems and even a heart stroke. There is also a chance of rejection of new kidney but qualified doctors take every step possible to minimize the risks at the planning stage itself.

What about Legal Requirements?

Firstly it’s important that both the patient and the donor understand the risks involved in the procedure, doctors do a fine job in helping with this. A consent form is supposed to be signed by both the donor and the recipient called Organ transplant agreement formulated by Government of India.

Costs for Kidney Transplant

Kidney transplant is one of the vital surgeries one can go through in an entire lifetime, considering this the costing also is quite high if renowned hospitals are opted. However, if one wishes to get a quality treatment in much lesser costs, countries like India never disappoint. India hosts a wide network of hospitals ranging from private medical institutes to government hospitals that facilitate the treatment. Though the cost of kidney transplant in India. varies from hospital to hospital, the low cost of living in here makes this procedure quite affordable as compared to other countries. Also, India’s success rate in treating this disease is about 80 to 90%. This is why India is also popular among many medical tourists for a kidney failure treatment.