After the operation
Patients normally stay in the hospital for several days after the operation. During this time they are closely monitored.
In some cases the transplanted kidney does not produce any urine in the first few days, or weeks, after the operation. If this happens patients continue with dialysis and wait for the transplanted kidney to start working.
It usually takes between three to six months for patients who have had a successful kidney transplant to return to work and other normal activities. During this time, they need to go for frequent check-ups. Initially these check-ups occur two or three times a week. This changes to once every three months or so once the doctors are satisfied that the kidney is working well.
A good transplant is one that is working well after a year.
The average lifespan of a transplanted kidney is 8 years for a cadaveric kidney and about 11 years for a living related transplant. The average for a living unrelated transplant is somewhere between the two.
A transplanted cadaveric kidney has, on average:
- an 80% to 90% chance of working one year after the operation.
- a 60% chance of lasting five years.
- a 50% chance of lasting ten years or more.
Patients may need two or more transplants in their lives.
"I remember the first day after the operation so clearly. I felt so different, so alert, so well. I laid in bed with an ache-free head, in seventh heaven and dreamt of the future." - Ms. Said, Transplant patient
