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Kidney transplants are the second most common transplant operation in the United States (over 14,000 cases per year - cornea transplants are first). Compared to heart, lung, or liver transplants, it is an easier and less complicated operation.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the private organization that runs the US transplant system under a contract with the federal government.

Despite continuing advances in medicine and technology, the demand for kidneys drastically outstrips the number of donors. In October 2002, there were 53,000 persons on waiting lists for kidney transplants in the US.

There are two types of kidney transplantation: cadaveric and living donor. Cadaver organs are distributed to those on a waiting list based on criteria set forth by UNOS. Live donor transplantation has become increasingly common, due in large part to the success of the procedure and the shortage of cadaveric organs. Living donation allows the immediate transplantation of kidneys into recipients so operations can be scheduled electively once a suitable living donor has been identified. This avoids the long waiting times encountered with cadaveric donation. A new procedure, the laparoscopic nephrectomy, has greatly reduced the trauma and recovery period for a living donor.

Kidney transplant recipients usually must take immunosuppressants, or anti-rejection drugs, for the rest of their lives. Medicare coverage for these medications is currently limited to three years, but federal legislation has been introduced to extend coverage. Immunosuppressant medications run on average between $1,000 - $1,200 monthly.

Warning: Changes should never be made in a patient's treatment or care based solely on the information found here.  All patients have unique healthcare concerns and considerations and these must all be taken into account before any changes can be safely made.  All medical and therapeutic decisions must come from a qualified health care provider.  Read RenalWEB's Legal Disclaimer before proceeding.

  NEWS and LATEST ARTICLES

Proposed System for Transplant Kidney Allocation Contains Bias against Most Diabetics - Article by Dr. Stephen Ponder from Corpus Christi Caller Times. - January 19, 2012

The Bioethics of Denying Patients Organ Transplants - Audio program from The Takeaway. - January 18, 2012

New Jersey Parents Say Mentally Disabled Girl, Three, Denied Kidney Transplant; Experts Say Situation Is Complex - Articles from The Washington Post and AP. Blog posting from BioEdge. - January 17, 2012
Also see: 15,000 Demand Transplant for Mentally Delayed Child

Australia Hits Record Number of Organ Donors: Risks of Living Organ Donation - Article from International Business Times. - January 17, 2012

'Team Amelia' Backs Kidney Transplant for Special Needs Child - Article from USA Today. - January 16, 2012

Quality of Life and Protein Energy Wasting in Kidney Transplant Recipients - Online First Abstract from International Urology and Nephrology. - January 14, 2012

Reversal of Diabetic Nephropathy: Lessons from Pancreas Transplantation - Article in Press abstract from Journal of Nephrology. - January 13, 2012

Nurse Donates Own Kidney to Patient in Need - Press release from Emory Healthcare. - January 13, 2012

Deceased Donor Transplantation Rates Declining in US - Article from Renal & Urology News. - January 13, 2012

Thousands of Seniors Lack Access to Lifesaving Organs, Despite Survival Benefit - Press release from Johns Hopkins Medicine. - January 12, 2012

After Financial Incentives Are Introduced, Israel See Dramatic Increase in Organ Transplants in 2011 - Article from Haaretz.com. - January 12, 2012

First Do no Harm: The Living Renal Donor Dilemma - Dr. Brenda Mayne's Story - Blog posting by Dr. Peter Laird from HemoDoc. - January 10, 2012

Incidence and Consequences of Acute Kidney Injury in Kidney Transplant Recipients - Article in Press Abstracts from American Journal of Kidney Diseases. - January 9, 2012

Kidney Trade: Sell an Organ, Become Worse Off - Article from The Express Tribune. - January 2, 2012

Three arrested for peddling miracle stem cell cure - Article from Reuters. - January 2, 2012

For Some In Need, Facebook Is Route To New Kidney - January 1, 2012

The Living Kidney Donor Evaluation: Focus on Renal Issues - CJASN Express Abstracts - January 2012

Hawaii Medical Center's Closure Leaves Hundreds of Transplant Hopefuls in Limbo - Honolulu Star-Advertiser article via InsuranceNewsNet.com. - December 23, 2011

Give a Kidney for Christmas! Should We Pay Donors? - (Registration required, but free.) Video blog by Dr. Jeffrey Berns on Medscape Nephrology. - December 23, 2011

The First Kidney Transplant - December 23, 1954 - Blog posting from The Kidney Doctor. - December 23, 2011

Correction of Postkidney Transplant Anemia Reduces Progression of Allograft Nephropathy - JASN Express Abstract - December 22, 2011

ECU, PCMH announce six-person kidney exchange - Article from the Beaufort Observer (NC). - December 22, 2011

Readied To Donate Organs, 21-Year-Old Emerges From Coma - Article from Good Morning America. - December 22, 2011

Improving family consent in organ donation could save lives - Article from Oxford University. - December 22, 2011

Factors That Influence the Decision to Be an Organ Donor: a Systematic Review of the Qualitative Literature - Advance Access abstract from NDT. - December 21, 2011

Selling Bone Marrow — Flynn v. Holder - Free, fulltext, perspective piece from the New England Journal of Medicine. - December 21, 2011

UK Transplant Surgeon Becomes First Ever To Donate His Own Kidney - Article from the Daily Mail. - December 21, 2011

Living Donor Kidney Donation: Another Form of White Coat Effect - Issue-in-Press abstract from American Journal of Nephrology. - December 21, 2011

For Illegal Immigrant on Dialysis, Line Is Drawn at Transplant - Article from The New York Times. - December 20, 2011

Boy Asks Santa for Kidney. - December 20, 2011

Pharmacist Fired After Giving Notice of Kidney Transplant Surgery - Article from Job Mouse. - December 19, 2011

First Do no Harm: The Living Renal Donor Dilemma - Blog posting from HemoDoc. - December 16, 2011

S. Florida woman receives kidney after Craigslist ad comes through - Article from the Miami Dade Herald. - December 14, 2011

Xenotransplantation: using pigs as organ and tissue donors for humans - Article from The Conversation. - December 14, 2011

Live kidney donation: attitudes towards donor approach, motives and factors promoting donation - Advance Access abstract from NDT. - December 13, 2011

Kidney Patients at For-Profit Dialysis Centers Less Likely to Get Transplants - Article summary from HealthCanal.com. - December 13, 2011

Organ Trafficking on the Rise in Egypt, Says New Report - Article from Bikya Masr. - December 12, 2011

The Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes of Kidney Transplant Recipients regarding Their Risk of Cancer - Accepted Article Abstracts from Nephrology. - December 11, 2011

Pretransplant Physical Activity Predicts All-Cause Mortality in Kidney Transplant Recipients - Issue in Progress abstract from American Journal of Nephrology. - December 10, 2011

Cold and Over-the-Counter Meds in Transplantation - Posting from Renal Fellow Network. - December 9, 2011

Nephrologists and Urologists Collaborate on Implantable Artificial Kidney - Article from Renal & Urology News. - November 1, 2011

Latest transplant news from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
Kidney Transplant news stories from Yahoo! News - Continually Updated!
 
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  ANTI-REJECTION DRUG INFORMATION

Cyclosporine ("Sandimmune" or "Neoral") - Drug Info from The Drug Monitor. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for cyclosporine and kidney transplant Continually Updated!
Tacrolimus ("Prograf" or FK506) - Drug Info from The Drug Monitor. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for tacrolimus and kidney transplant Continually Updated!
Sirolimus ("Rapamune®") - Drug Info from The Drug Monitor. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for sirolimus and kidney transplant Continually Updated!
Azathioprine ("Imuran") - Drug Info from The Drug Monitor. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for azathioprine and kidney transplant Continually Updated!
Daclizumab ("Zenapax®") - Drug Info from The Drug Monitor. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for daclizumab and kidney transplant Continually Updated!
Corticosteroids ("Prednisone" and many others) - Drug Info from The MedMaster™ Patient Drug Information database. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for corticosteroids and kidney transplant Continually Updated! Search results for prednisone Continually Updated!
Mycophenolate ("CellCept") - Drug Info from The Drug Monitor. National Library of Medicine PubMED search results for mycophenolate and kidney transplant Continually Updated!
 

  WEB RESOURCES

Latest Scientific Journal Articles on Kidney Transplantation - list compiled by RenalWEB's Journal Watch
Guidelines for Preventing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Through Transplantation of Human Tissue and Organs from the CDC - May 20, 1994
How the Transplant Waiting List Works - Article from KidneyTimes. - April 2011

The Jewish Kidney & Transplant Support Center - Advice and support for kidney transplant and dialysis patients

KidneyLink - created by maintained by the PKD Foundation
Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Program from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Kidney Transplant  web sites from Yahoo!
Kidney Transplant Guide - step-by-step information and tools to help you and your family work with your doctor.
Latest Issue of Kidney Transplant Today an electronic newsletter produced and distributed by the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP)

Kidtrans - list for parents of children who have had a transplant or are in need of one

Medical Complications of Kidney Transplantation (Hardcover) by Claudio Ponticelli (Editor) - January 2008
Medicare Solutions - All you need to know about being an organ donor - powered by HealthPlanOne
National Donor Memorial web site
National Service Framework for Renal Services: Part One - Dialysis and transplantation - Department of Health web site
National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) web site
The Gift that Heals: Stories of hope, renewal and transformation through organ and tissue donation - book by Reg Green
Organ and Tissue Donors and Transplant Recipients from the NKF web site. Also, transAction! - A council where transplant recipients of all organs come together.
Pediatric Transplantation web site
Pregnancy After Transplant from the Transplant Living web site
Infectious Diseases Guidelines 2: What is new and how to use? video from the American Society of Transplantation - April 5, 2010
Influenza and Transplant Recipients: Ways To Prevent And Treat - Conversations in Transplantation from the American Society of Transplantation - November 2010
Presumed Consent Foundation web site
Q&A on Living Donation from the NKF web site
Questions About Kidney Transplantation from TransWeb.org web site
The Renal Transplant Option from the ESRD Network 5 web site
Top 10 Myths About Donation & Transplantation from TransWeb.org web site
Transplantation: The Other Option power point presentation from the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association
TransplantLiving - the patient's connection to the transplant community from UNOS
2009 OPTN / SRTR Annual Report: Transplant Data 1999-2008 - Annual report from the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
2009 Annual Report from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) weekly updated Waiting Lists for transplants.
Update: Investigations of West Nile Virus Infections in Recipients of Organ Transplantation and Blood Transfusion - from MMWR - September 20, 2002
USTransplant.org web site - The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) web site. Center and OPO Specific Reports
Who is Eligible for Medicare? from the The Official U.S. Government Site for Medicare Information
 
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  ESSENTIALS AND CLASSICS

Transplant Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice - a book by ANA and the International Transplant Nurses Association
Tramplantation Fact Sheet (pdf format requires Adobe Acrobat reader.) from the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association
Chronic Kidney Disease: What Every Nurse Should Know - Module 6: Chronic Kidney Disease - The Post Transplant Patient - from the American Nephrology Nurses Association web site
European Best Practice Guideline for Transplantation Part 1 and European Best Practice Guideline for Transplantation Part 2 - guidelines endorsed by the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA)
Treatment Methods for Kidney Failure: Kidney Transplantation from the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
End-Stage Renal Disease: Choosing a Treatment That's Right for You: Transplantation from the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC)
Here is an informative website for those considering kidney transplantation, "A Patient's Guide to Kidney Transplant Surgery" from the University of Southern California Kidney Transplant Program.
HLA Matching from the University of Michigan Medical Center.
 
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  KDIGO™ -  Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes

Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) web site

Frequently Asked Questions: The K/DOQI Process
K/DOQI Annual Report 2006 (pdf format requires Adobe Acrobat reader)
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  PUBMED SEARCHES

kidney transplant Continually Updated!
organ donor and kidney Continually Updated!
renal transplant and HLA matching Continually Updated!
kidney transplant and complications Continually Updated!
kidney transplant and rejection Continually Updated!
 
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  LAPAROSCOPIC NEPHRECTOMY

Live Doner Laparoscopic Nephrectomy For Kidney Transplantation - article from the University of Southern California Kidney Transplant Program.

Here is a listing of articles on the laparoscopic nephrectomy procedure from the latest scientific journals (PubMed search).

 
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  NON-DIRECTED DONATION AND "SWAPS"

 
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  STATISTICS

U.S. Facts About Kidney Transplantation from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) web site
2009 OPTN / SRTR Annual Report: Transplant Data 1999-2008 - Annual report from the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
Center and OPO Specific Reports from the USTransplant.org web site
 
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  UPCOMING EVENTS

Listing of North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO) Meetings
 
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  TRANSPLANT CENTERS

US Transplant Centers - from the OPTN web site
Transplant centers with web sites (page down to Transplant Centers) from the National Foundation for Transplants web site
Transplant Statistics: Center-Specific Reports from the USTranplant.org web site
 
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  XENOTRANSPLANTATION, BIOTECH, AND STEM CELL RESEARCH

FDA Guidance for Industry on Xenotransplantation from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
These two web sites provide opposing viewpoints on xenotransplantation. Here is the the International Xenotransplantation Association. Here is the web site of the Campaign for Responsible Transplantation, a group that opposes xenotransplantation.
U.S. Public Health Service Guideline on Infectious Disease Issues in Xenotransplantation from the Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) - August 24, 2001
Stem Cells: A Primer - from the National Institutes of Health, September 2002
Stem Cell Research - Full coverage page from Yahoo
Beyond Transplants: Growing Organs in the Lab from Popular Mechanics
 
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  DISCUSSION FORUM

General Nursing Discussion Forum - RenalWEB Discussion Forum
 
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  INPUT / SUGGESTIONS

E-mail to RenalWEB on the Transplantation Topic
 
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