For Candidates
The road to a kidney transplant is long. Along this road, you will face questions, hurdles and choices. Downstate will be by your side, every step of the way.
If you're living with chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney disease and are currently on dialysis (or will need dialysis in the future), a kidney transplant may be right for you. Research has shown that those who receive a kidney transplant live longer and liver better than those who stay on dialysis: dialysis is good; it will keep you alive when your kidneys fail, but it is not like a real kidney. Unfortunately, not everybody qualifies for the kidney transplant waitlist; you will work closely with our transplant team to learn whether a transplant is your best option for you.
A transplant isn't a cure. You'll need to take medicine daily, for the rest of your life, to ensure your body doesn't reject your new kidney. You will also need to eat well and stay active. But a kidney transplant can help you return to a healthy life—a lot like you may remember before renal disease.
Types of Transplants
The kidney you receive will come from either a living or deceased donor. In either case, you'll have to be an exact match for the organ you receive. We determine that by testing your blood type (either A, B, AB, or O) and your tissue type. When your tissue type matches a donor, your body is more likely to accept the kidney without rejecting it.
Living Donor Transplants
Finding a living donor means that you get a transplant more quickly than waiting on the transplant national waitlist. Once your donor is cleared, the surgery is planned, conditions are optimized and not surprisingly, success rates are higher also. We work closely to educate donors and recipients about the process, the risks and what you're likely to face in recovery and beyond.
Not a Match to your Recipients? Not a Problem! The Downstate Transplant Team has joined national swap programs to enable all our patients to benefit from the miracle of living donor kidney transplantation. Our coordinators will discuss with you all the benefits of participating in a swap program when considering living donation and living donor kidney transplantation.
Patients often tell us they do not know how to ask for a living donor. The answer is easy: you don’t have to ask. What you need to do is share your story. People cannot give you what they don’t know you need. Tell everyone about your kidney disease, your struggles with dialysis and your need for a transplant. Then, be ready for your family, friends and coworkers to ask questions. You should know enough about living donation to be able to carry a conversation. If you are able to keep a conversation going when faced with some basic questions, your family and friends are more likely to think about it more and possibly decide to contact us for inquiry. You should know:
- The cost of the medical testing for living donation is taken care of by the recipient’s insurance
- Not a Match: Not a Problem, we participate in national swap programs
- Many employers offer 100% paid leave for those who donate an organ
- At Downstate, we perform a minimally invasive approach. Donors have small scars and one just big enough to take the kidney out.
- Donors are typically in the hospital 1 or 2 days and can return to work at 3 to 6 weeks after donation, depending on their level or activity at work.
Deceased Donor Transplants
In the event that a close match with a living donor can't be found, you'll register on a national database to await a compatible kidney from a deceased donor. There are approximately 100,000 people waiting for deceased donor kidney transplants in the United States, and over 10,000 in the Tri-State area. The amount of time you'll spend on the list depends on several factors, including your blood and tissue type as well as the availability of donor organs and the quality of the program you are listed with. At the moment, most recipients wait at least 3 years and sometimes up to eight years. For some, the wait is long and difficult. For others, the new organ comes quickly, functions immediately, and continues to work with few problems. Once transplanted, the success rate for deceased donor kidneys is greater than 95% nationally.