Kidney Transplant
The kidneys are responsible for continually filtering waste materials from the blood. When the kidneys fail and are no longer able to do this, dialysis is required to take over their job. For people who are in end-stage renal disease, a kidney transplant may be an option.
St. John Transplant Specialty Center is actively involved in performing live donor transplants. Donors can include living blood-related donors such as a brother, sister, parent, son, daughter, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. Living donors may also include people who are not blood related such as a spouse, cousin, in-law or friend. In the state of Michigan, there are currently about 1,500 people waiting for a kidney transplant, which is why St. John recently increased its living donor pool to include close friends of the kidney recipient.
At St. John Transplant Specialty Center, an educational program is available for all potential kidney transplant patients to learn more about what is involved in kidney transplantation. From getting on the wait list, to surgery and post-surgery follow-up, this comprehensive program helps kidney patients and their family members to become better informed about kidney transplant.
Laparoscopic Live-Donor Nephrectomy
St. John Hospital and Medical Center became the first metro Detroit hospital to perform a laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy in December 1998. Currently only a few transplant centers across the country regularly perform the procedure.
The new procedure requires four small punctures for the laparoscopic equipment and one 2.5-inch bikini-line incision for the kidney removal.
Benefits to the donor include: less post-surgical pain less scarring shorter hospital stay shorter recovery time
Bene fits to the recipient include: kidney starts functioning immediately wait time for kidney is shorter less immunosuppression for the recipient after surgery life of the transplanted kidney is longer Most people, including those who are obese, are viable candidates for laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy.
For more information about transplants or to discuss treatment options, contact a transplant coordinator at St. John Transplant Specialty Center.
