What should I know about kidney transplantation?
                
The purpose of kidney transplantation is to surgically place a healthy kidney from a donora person who has just died or a living person, most often a family memberinto your body. A kidney from someone who has just died is a deceased donor kidney. A kidney from a living person is a living donor kidney. A functioning kidney transplant does a better job of filtering wastes and keeping you healthy than dialysis.
                
How Kidney Transplantation Works
                
Surgeonsdoctors who specialize in surgeryplace most transplanted kidneys in the lower front part of your abdomen. The kidney is connected to an artery, which brings unfiltered blood into the kidney, and a vein, which takes filtered blood out of the kidney. The surgeon also transplants the ureter from the donor to let urine from the new kidney flow to your bladder. Unless your damaged kidneys cause problems such as infection, they can remain in their normal position. The transplanted kidney takes over the job of filtering your blood. Your body normally attacks anything it sees as foreign, so to keep your body from attacking the kidney you need to take medicines called immunosuppressants for as long as the transplanted kidney functions.
                
Pros and Cons of Kidney Transplantation
                
Following is a list of the pros and cons of kidney transplantation.
                
Kidney Transplantation
                
Pros
                
- A transplanted kidney works like a healthy kidney.  - If you have a living donor, you can choose the time of your operation.  - You may feel healthier and have an improved quality of life.  - You have fewer dietary restrictions.  - You wont need dialysis.  - People who receive a donated kidney have a greater chance of living a longer life than those who stay on dialysis.
                
Cons
                
- Transplantation requires surgery.  - You will go through extensive medical testing at the transplant clinic.  - You may need to wait years for a deceased donor kidney.  - Your body may reject the new kidney, so one transplant may not last a lifetime.  - Youll need to take immunosuppressants, which may cause other health problems, for as long as the transplanted kidney functions.
                
Questions to Ask My Doctor
                
You may want to ask your doctor these questions:
                
- Is transplantation the best treatment choice for me? Why?  - What are my chances of having a successful transplant?  - How do I find out whether a family member or friend can donate?  - What are the risks to a family member or friend who donates?  - If a family member or friend does not donate, who will place me on a waiting list for a kidney? How long will I have to wait?  - How will I know if my donor kidney is working?  - How long does a transplanted kidney function?  - What side effects do immunosuppressants cause?  - Who will be on my transplant team? How can the members of my transplant team help me?  - With whom can I talk about finances, sex, or family concerns?  - How/where can I talk with other people who have faced this decision?
                
More information about Transplantation is provided in the NIDDK health topic, Treatment Methods for Kidney Failure: Transplantation. See also the Kidney Failure Treatment Comparison Chart, which compares peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, and transplantation.