What Is It? A kidney transplant is surgery in which a person who
has permanent kidney failure receives a healthy kidney from
another person. This single, healthy kidney takes on the
workload of both of the person's failed kidneys. The failed
kidneys usually are left in place. The new kidney is added to
the abdomen. The new kidney can come from a living or dead
donor. A living donor is usually a close blood relative of the
person who receives the new kidney (the recipient). However, in
certain cases, a recipient's spouse or friend can be a kidney
donor. A kidney donor must be a good match for the recipient.
This means that the donor and recipient have similar chemical
characteristics, called antigens, on their body cells. When
these antigens match, there is less risk that the recipient's
immune system will see the donor's kidney as a foreign object
and reject it. What It's Used For Kidney transplants are used to
treat advanced, permanent kidney failure. Kidney failure is also
called chronic renal failure or en