Different types of kidney transplants
Different types of kidney transplants
There are two kinds of kidney transplants: transplant from a living donor (usually a healthy relative of the recipient) and a non-living (or deceased) donor transplant.
Living donor transplantation implies thatthe child (patient) receives a kidney from someone who is still alive. One healthy kidney can do the necessary work that the child’s two failed kidneys cannot, so both the recipient and the living donor can resume/continue an active life with one healthy kidney each. A living donor is usually a relative or close friend of the transplant recipient. In some cases, however, a kidney can come from a stranger who just wanted to help someone else. These individuals are called ‘altruistic’ or ‘unspecified’ donors.
Non-living (deceased) donor transplantation is possible when a dying person has been identified as ‘organ donor’, provided their organ(s) are still functioning after death has been declared. To receive a deceased (non-live) donor transplant, children in need of a new kidney must have been thoroughly evaluated by the nephrology and surgical teams and their name put on the waiting list until a suitable donor kidney becomes available.