Outcomes

129 kidney transplants in 2015 (Cleveland location), including:

• 9 kidney-pancreas transplants

• 4 pediatric kidney transplants

Program Highlights

2013 marked the 50th Anniversary of Cleveland Clinic’s first kidney transplant. Cleveland Clinic performed Ohio’s first kidney transplant in January 1963. During that same year, Cleveland Clinic also launched its pediatric kidney transplant program. Affiliate programs have also been established at the Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia (1987) and at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital in Indiana (2008).

• Learn more about Cleveland Clinic Kidney Breakthroughs: A Visual History (Infographic)

Cleveland Clinic kidney transplant program is an essential component of a broad medical and surgical strategy to manage all patients with kidney disease with the therapy most appropriate to that patient, up to and including kidney transplants.

Why choose Cleveland Clinic for your kidney transplant?

Cleveland Clinic is one of the nation's best overall hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Report's2015-16 "America's Best Hospitals" rankings. Cleveland Clinic is ranked No. 5. This year, Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute is ranked 2nd in the country, and Cleveland Clinic is also recognized for excellence in most of the other medical specialties ranked by the magazine.

Cleveland Clinic kidney transplant program is a member of the United Network For Organ Sharing (UNOS), meeting all their requirements for kidney transplants.

A living donor transplant is a procedure during which a kidney is removed from a healthy donor and surgically placed in an individual with kidney failure. The living donor often is an immediate family member (parent, sibling, or child). The living donor can also be an uncle, aunt, cousin, or even a spouse or friend. Living donor kidneys can also come from strangers, Good Samaritans, that want to help someone in need of a kidney.

A living donor transplant has many advantages over a deceased donor kidney transplant, the most important being a significantly higher success rate. Additional reasons include:

• A kidney from a living donor generally functions immediately after transplant. A deceased donor kidney might take several days or weeks to function normally.

• The living donor transplant can be scheduled, allowing the recipient and donor preparation time. Recipients will not know when a deceased donor kidney will be available, and surgery must be performed very soon after it is available.

• There may be a reduced risk of rejection, especially if the kidney is donated by a blood relative.

• A living donor transplant can shorten the amount of time a recipient has to wait to receive a kidney transplant. The average wait time for a deceased donor kidney could be three to five years.

Who would be a good living donor candidate?

Biological siblings generally make the best living donors due to matching. However, with the advancements in drugs and treatment for rejection prevention, anyone can be considered a donor if they have a compatible blood type. Most healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 are potential donors. All living donors are evaluated individually. You should discuss donation with immediate and extended family members, friends, co-workers, and friends of friends. The success of kidney transplants using unrelated living donors is nearly as high as living related donors.

What are the risks of having only one kidney?

A common question from a donor candidate is: “What if I get kidney disease later on in life?” A person with one kidney is no more likely to get kidney disease than someone with two kidneys. Even if the most common forms of kidney disease were to occur, a person with one kidney has no major disadvantage because medical kidney disease attacks both kidneys simultaneously. After surgery, the donor’s remaining kidney will increase in size and function. The donor’s chance for a long, normal, and healthy life remains the same with one kidney.

Will the quality of life change for the donor?

Once the donor has healed from the surgery, the person should not experience a difference in energy level, ability to work, life expectancy, susceptibility to illness, sexual function, or feeling of health. Also, donation should not affect fertility. Many female kidney donors have had normal pregnancies after donation. Donors also might receive a certain amount of satisfaction knowing they were able to help save another person’s life. In addition, by giving one of his or her kidneys, the living donor has also made a deceased donor kidney available to another who might not have any other options.

Is the donor operation dangerous?

Kidney donor surgery is a very safe operation. As with any surgery, there is a risk of bleeding and infection. The most advanced surgical technique, laparoscopic nephrectomy, has reduced the hospital stay to one or two days, resulted in less pain and scarring, and has reduced full recovery time from eight to 12 weeks down to two to four weeks.

Who will pay the donor’s medical bills?

A donor candidate will undergo a complete evaluation to determine if he or she can safely donate a kidney. The recipient’s insurance company will pay for these costs. All costs associated with the donor’s operation and recovery will also be billed to the recipient’s insurance company.

Once a donor has recovered, he or she will be required to have a follow-up appointment at six months, one year, and two years. A donor also might incur costs of travel, lodging, meals, and other non-medical expenses. Donating an organ is covered by the Federal Medical Leave Act. However, the donor candidate should determine the impact donation will have on his or her work situation before committing to the operation.

A Team Approach

The Kidney Transplant Team at Cleveland Clinic is specially trained in meeting the needs of kidney transplant patients. The team is committed to providing comprehensive care in a compassionate setting. 

The Kidney Transplant Team members include:

• Transplant Surgeons

• Transplant Nephrologists

• Transplant Coordinators

• Transplant Fellows and Residents

• Social Workers

• Transplant Program Assistants

• Financial Counselors

• Dietitians

• Transplant Psychiatrist

• Transplant Bioethics

• Registered Nurses

• Nursing Assistants

Additional consultants may also include:

• Cardiology

• Vascular Medicine or Surgery

• Endocrinology

• Infectious Disease

• Pulmonology

   

  Please navigate through pages below to learn more about Living Donation.