My brother’s kidney

After series of treatments including dialysis, my brother’s doctors finally explained to us that his kidneys are not functioning properly and that he will need a Kidney transplant. Kindly advise us on how to go about this.

Chike (by SMS)

A kidney transplant is a surgery that involves taking a healthy kidney from a donor and placing it into a person whose kidneys are no longer working properly. Kidneys for transplantation might come from living donors or deceased organ donors. Immediate family members, spouses and friends may qualify for kidney donation.

Deceased donor kidneys come from those who have elected to donate their organs upon death. Potential kidney donors are carefully screened to make sure they’re a match. This helps prevent complications. Kidney transplants are done to help people with chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal kidney failure. When your kidneys can no longer filter waste properly, you’ll need either dialysis (which uses a machine to remove waste from your bloodstream) or a kidney transplant. While most kidney transplant recipients are between the ages of 45 and 65, there really is no upper age limit.

However, to ensure the best results, your brother’s doctor will likely look for a donor who is close to your own age. In some cases, people can have two and even three or four kidney transplants in their lifetime.

Kidney transplants are approved on a case-by-case basis. However, there are some general factors that could make a person ineligible for a kidney transplant, such as: a serious health condition that makes it dangerous to have surgery, recurring (returning) infection, a short life expectancy as well as drug or alcohol abuse.

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