Is Kidney Transplantation A Complete Cure For Renal Failure

End-stage renal failure is the name for renal failure which is so severe that it cannot be reversed. Kidneys in this stage no longer function normally. Doctors may recommend you to do dialysis or transplant to extend your life span. Dialysis or kidney transplantation is the only treatment in this stage. However, is kidney transplantation a complete cure for renal failure patients?

For this question, we cannot say it is completely right or wrong. That is because even though you get a healthy kidney, your run a certain risk to develop kidney disease again or suffer from severe complications, so we cannot guarantee you are quite well and live longer after kidney transplantation. As for this, I will analyze the reason for you in detail.

First, you should know there is kidney rejection.

What is rejection?

The most important complication that may occur after kidney transplant is kidney rejection. The body’s immune system protects against all attack by all foreigner like bacteria. Once you get a new or foreign kidney, the defense system will immediately recognize this new tissue as foreigner and work together to fight with this “foreigner”.

You need to take some medicine to prevent rejection of your new kidney. These are drugs that prevent the body from rejecting the donated kidney. The drugs may include cyclosporine tacrolimus, sirolimus, steroid, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine and rapamycin.

Are there some side-effects of anti-rejection medications?

Yes, there are. When your body’s immune defenses are controlled, a large number of side-effects of anti-rejection medications will occur. Fortunately, most patients can manage these side-effects. When these side-effects do occur, it may be useful for you to change the dose or type of the medication. Some of the most common side-effects include high blood pressure, weight gain, and a susceptibility to infections or tumors. In this case, you may also need some medications to maintain your blood pressure and prevent ulcers and infections.

The National Kidney Foundation’s statistics show that about 95,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney transplant. And because of a lack of kidney donor, each year only a small percentage people who need a kidney transplant can receive a kidney. It takes years to wait for a donor.

All the above indicate that kidney transplant is not a complete cure for patients with renal failure. Once patients get a healthy kidney from a donor, it does not mean that she or he is totally fine and their kidney function has been completely repaired well. Anyone who gets a kidney transplant must take some immunosuppressive drugs for their rest of life, unless they receive a kidney which is donated by their identical twin, but it is a rare case.

In order to live better, you should do regular checkups so as to early detect and treat your kidney disease. It is more helpful for you to repair your kidney function if you are diagnosed with kidney disease and at that moment the disease is in early stage. Your early treatment may enable you to get rid of kidney dialysis or kidney transplant.

In addition, if you want to know more information about kidney disease, please leave us a message kidneycares@hotmail.com, and we are glad to help you.