Conversations #1: Dialysis vs. Transplant. An Introduction to Kidney Transplant

Through a series of online conversations, Weill Cornell Medicine’s kidney transplant team has been educating patients, caregivers, and the transplant community while answering your questions and providing valuable resources along the way. Speakers Judith Hambleton, SRN, CCTC, Chief Coordinator, and Eliza Bensley, RN, BSN, Clinical Transplant Educator, serve as your guides throughout the series, helping you navigate the complexities of kidney transplantation and make informed decisions, whether on your own behalf or on behalf of a loved one.

See the following takeaway messages from the first webinar:

· A healthy kidney is responsible for cleaning the blood, producing urine, regulating blood pressure, balancing fluids in the body, and signaling the bones to make red blood cells
· Chronic kidney disease (CKD) results in a loss of kidney function over time, causing high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, poor nutritional health, and nerve damage. CKD is more common in women than men and disproportionately affects communities of color. Diabetes and high blood pressure cause the majority of cases of CKD. Kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million people in the U.S.
· Dialysis removes waste and extra fluid from the blood. Hemodialysis: blood is pumped through a dialysis machine, where it is cleaned and returned to your body. Patients usually receive hemodialysis 3-4 times a week at home or a dialysis center. With peritoneal dialysis: blood is cleaned inside your body every day through the lining of your abdomen using a special fluid that is periodically changed.
· A kidney transplant can extend your life compared with dialysis. A transplant can also improve your quality of life, freeing you to eat normally and return to work.
· A transplant recipient may receive a healthy kidney from either a deceased or living donor.
· Deceased organ donors are people who are brain dead and cannot survive their illness and had previously decided to donate their organs upon death.
· Living donation is the best option for those considering transplantation. Research has shown they have better outcomes than those who receive organs from deceased donors.
· To determine whether you may be a kidney transplant candidate, you should schedule an evaluation visit at our transplant center.
· The transplant procedure takes from 2 to 4 hours. On average, patients stay in the hospital for 4 to 6 days after transplant surgery.
· Afterwards, and for the rest of their lives, patients must take at least 2 immunosuppressive medications to prevent the body from rejecting the new kidney.
To learn more about adult transplantation or to become a new patient, please visit weillcornelltransplant.org or call 212-746-3099