A kidney transplant provides your child with a healthy kidney from a donor. The donor is a person who gives your child a kidney.
Transplant Process
Types of Pediatric Kidney Transplants
There are two types of kidney transplants:
- Deceased donor kidney transplant
- Living donor kidney transplant
Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant
A deceased donor is a person who has recently died and donated his kidneys.
- This is the most common type of kidney transplant.
- To receive a deceased donor kidney, your child is placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) list. UNOS matches deceased donors and patients waiting for a kidney.
Living Donor Kidney Transplant
A living donor is a person who volunteers to give your child one of his kidneys.
- Even when one kidney is removed, the donor can recover well. The remaining kidney works well enough for the donor to have a normal quality of life.
- A family member usually provides the best match, but many living donors are not related. Aunts, friends, firefighters and teachers have all volunteered as donors.
After a child receive a pediatric kidney transplant, the new kidney takes over the work of two failed kidneys. The child may need his own kidneys removed, depending on his medical condition.