A kidney transplant can improve your health and eliminate the need for dialysis. But kidney transplants also have some downsides. As with any surgery, there’s a risk of infection. After surgery, your doctor will prescribe immunosuppressant drugs to keep your body from rejecting the new organ. You’ll need to stay on these medications for as long as you have your transplanted kidney. There’s also a chance that your new kidney will eventually fail. You may need to have more than one kidney transplant surgery.