The Rogosin Institute

Kidney Transplant

I have been diagnosed with end stage renal disease. Is there any other treatment besides a kidney transplant?
How do I know if I am eligible for a transplant?
How long do I have to find a 'donor' kidney?
How do you determine if someone's kidney will be a match?
Can I live normally with only one kidney?
Is there anything I can do to better prepare my body for a kidney transplant?

I have been diagnosed with end stage renal disease. Is there any other treatment besides a kidney transplant?

Dialysis and transplant are the only two treatments available for end stage renal disease. It is very important to explore all the dialysis modalities that are available. Specifically, there are a number of options that can be performed at home, or at night while a patient is sleeping allowing a full range of activities during the. The Rogosin Institute offers unparalleled dialysis flexibility for their patients.
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How do I know if I am eligible for a transplant?

There are several considerations that determine if and when a patient is eligible for a kidney transplant. Kidney function has to have declined to approximately 20% of normal before patients can be listed to receive a transplant. Typically they will be transplanted when their function is close to 10% of normal. Prospective transplant recipients undergo a medical evaluation, to determine whether they can successfully tolerate the surgery and the concomitant immunosuppression. We generally will not consider transplanting a patient whose underlying medical condition includes an uncontrolled malignancy or an expected survival of less than five years. At the transplant program at the NYPH-Weill Cornell in affiliation with the Rogosin Institute, patients are transplanted with a history of heart disease, including prior heart attacks and coronary artery bypass surgery, treated malignancies, hepatitis and HIV. If there are specific questions, the transplant program should be contacted.
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How long do I have to find a 'donor' kidney?

There is no time limit to finding a kidney transplant donor.
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How do you determine if someone's kidney will be a match?

Donors and recipients are matched based on their blood type and whether the recipient has antibodies that would react with and damage the donor's kidney.
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Can I live normally with only one kidney?

People can be born with only one kidney and live a normal life.
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Is there anything I can do to better prepare my body for a kidney transplant?

To prepare yourself for a kidney transplant, you should try and be in the best possible general health. That includes an ideal body weight, watching your diet and exercising if possible.
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