Kidney Transplant Patients Often End Up with Three or More Kidneys

 

 

Kidney Transplant Patients Often End Up with Three or More Kidneys

After a kidney transplant, you might end up having three kidneys or even more. Unlike heart or liver transplants, the surgeon does not remove the old kidney when a new one is transplanted.

 

Most kidney transplant recipients have at least three kidneys. In some cases, if a person undergoes multiple transplant surgeries, they could end up with up to five kidneys.

This might occur if a person requires multiple kidney transplants throughout their life, leading to the accumulation of additional organs.

 

The procedure involves placing the new kidney in the lower belly, leaving the old kidney in place. After the transplant, patients receive medication to prevent kidney rejection, and most transplanted kidneys start functioning within a week or two.

 

To prevent organ rejection, kidney transplant recipients are prescribed immunosuppressive medications, also known as anti-rejection drugs. These medications suppress the recipient's immune system, reducing its ability to attack the transplanted kidney.

 

Although kidney transplantation is a complex surgery, it offers hope to millions of people suffering from chronic kidney disease. Scientists are currently working on an artificial kidney, which could perform the functions of a real kidney. It will be able to remove waste products and excess fluids from the blood and reduce the need for dialysis or kidney transplantation.