Kidney Transplant in India

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure to place a kidney from a live or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly

Your kidneys remove excess fluid and waste from your blood. When your kidneys lose their filtering ability, dangerous levels of fluid and waste accumulate in your body a condition known as kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease.

A kidney transplant is often the best treatment for kidney failure. Only one donated kidney is needed to replace two failed kidneys, making living-donor kidney transplantation an option. If a compatible living donor isn’t available for a kidney transplant, your name may be placed on a kidney transplant waiting list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor.

What are the functions of Kidney?

The kidneys perform many crucial functions, including:

1. Maintaining overall fluid balance
2. Regulating and filtering minerals from blood
3. Filtering waste materials from food, medications, and toxic substances
4. Creating hormones that help produce red blood cells, promote bone health, and regulate blood pressure.

Anatomy of Kidney :

The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs on either side of your spine, below your ribs and behind your belly. Each kidney is about 4 or 5 inches long, roughly the size of a large fist.

The kidneys’ job is to filter your blood. They remove wastes, control the body’s fluid balance, and keep the right levels of electrolytes. All of the blood in your body passes through them several times a day.

Blood comes into the kidney, waste gets removed, and salt, water, and minerals are adjusted, if needed. The filtered blood goes back into the body. Waste gets turned into urine, which collects in the kidney’s pelvis — a funnel-shaped structure that drains down a tube called the ureter to the bladder.

Each kidney has around a million tiny filters called nephrons. You could have only 10% of your kidneys working, and you may not notice any symptoms or problems.

If blood stops flowing into a kidney, part or all of it could die. That can lead to kidney failure.

Symptoms of a kidney problem : 

1. Trouble sleeping
2. Fatigue
3. Inability to concentrate
4. Dry, itchy skin
5. Increased or decreased urination
6. Blood in urine
7. Foamy urine
8. Puffiness around the eyes
9. Foot or ankle swelling
10. Reduced appetite
11. Muscle cramps

What is Renal Function?

The word “renal” refers to the kidneys. The terms “renal function” and “kidney function” mean the same thing. Health professionals use the term “renal function” to talk about how efficiently the kidneys filter blood. People with two healthy kidneys have 100 percent of their kidney function. Small or mild declines in kidney function-as much as 30 to 40 percent-would rarely be noticeable. Kidney function is calculated using a blood sample and a formula to find the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

The eGFR corresponds to the percent of kidney function available.

For many people with reduced kidney function, a kidney disease is also present and will get worse. Serious health problems occur when people have less than 25 percent of their kidney function. When kidney function drops below 10 to 15 percent, a person needs some form of renal replacement therapy-either blood-cleansing treatments called dialysis or a kidney transplant-to sustain life.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kidney Transplant:

1. Why should I consider a kidney transplant instead of dialysis?
   While dialysis is a life-saving treatment, it does only about 10 percent of the work that a functioning kidney does. Because of its impact on the body, dialysis can also cause other health problems. Patients typically live 10 to 15 years longer with a kidney transplant than if they stayed on dialysis. And most people report that in comparison, transplantation offers them a much better quality of life.
2. Am I good candidate for a kidney transplant?
   You will need a thorough evaluation by the Transplant Institute staff, in consultation with referring physicians, to determine if transplantation is the best treatment option. Being a good candidate for transplant depends upon your physical health, emotional well-being, and ability to manage medication and care plans.
3. What is the success rate of kidney transplant in India?
   The quality of life after kidney transplant in India is unmatched. Overall, transplant success rates are very good. Transplants from deceased donors have an 85 to 90% success rate for the first year. That means that after one year, 85 to 90 out of every 100 transplanted kidneys are still functioning.
4. How much does it cost to get a kidney transplant in India?
   In India, nearly 6 lakh people require kidney transplant every year. The cost of kidney transplant in India at private hospitals is high and normally costs between 2-3 lakh because of which the treatment is not affordable by patients from low income group resulting in death of the patient which is slow and painful.
5. What is the average life expectancy after a kidney transplant?
   12 to 20 years – As a result, the average life expectancy for a patient on dialysis is generally five years. On the other hand, patients who receive a kidney transplant typically live longer than those who stay on dialysis. A living donor kidney functions, on average, 12 to 20 years, and a deceased donor kidney from 8 to 12 years.
6. Are kidney transplants legal in India?
   THE LAW AND RULES GOVERNING ORGAN DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION IN INDIA. The main provisions of the THO act and the newly passed Gazette by the Government of India include the following: For living donation – it defines who can donate without any legal formalities.
7. What if I reject my new kidney?
   Rejection is a signal that your immune system has identified the new kidney as foreign tissue and is trying to get rid of it. Preventing rejection with immune-suppressing medication is the first priority. The most common sign of rejection is change in kidney function (an increase in creatinine, a waste product), as measured by a blood test. This is why you need frequent blood testing in the first three months after transplantation, and regular testing after that. If a kidney biopsy and kidney ultrasound confirm the rejection episode, then the transplant team will increase the amount of anti-rejection medication or prescribe a different combination of anti-rejection drug therapy. Using medicine, we can successfully reverse most rejection episodes, if we detect it early enough. However, if the episode is severe, it may shorten the overall life span of the new kidney.
8. How many kidney transplants are successful?
   Kidney transplant success rates. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network: Failure of the transplanted kidney is reported in about 4 percent of deceased-donor kidney transplant recipients within one year after transplant and in 21 percent of cases five years after transplant.
9. What should I do after kidney transplant?
   To lower your chances of getting skin cancer you should:
   1. Avoid direct sunlight.
   2. Avoid tanning booths.
   3. Wear UVA and UVB sunscreen protection.
   4. Be aware of any changes in your skin. Preform self-examines of your skin and lips regularly.
   5. Follow the advice of your transplant team and kidney doctor for further skin care.
10. Are kidney transplants safe?
    Ideally, patients who are eligible to get a kidney transplant do so before ever starting on dialysis. Disadvantages — Kidney transplantation is a major surgical procedure that has risks both during and after the surgery. The risks of the surgery include infection, bleeding, and damage to the surrounding organs.

Which country is the best for kidney transplant?

Who can donate a kidney?

Can donating a kidney shorten your life?

How dangerous is a kidney transplant?

How do you feel after kidney transplant?

Is it illegal to donate a kidney?

Who can donate kidney?

What are the qualifications to donate a kidney?

What kidney rejection feels like?

Does a kidney transplant last forever?

What foods should kidney transplant patients avoid?

Can I travel after kidney transplant?

Can kidney transplant patients drink alcohol?

How long can you live with one kidney?

Is it painful to donate a kidney?

What is the age limit to donate a kidney?

What has to match to donate a kidney?

Treatments of Kidney Diseases:

Antibiotics: Kidney infections caused by bacteria are treated with antibiotics. Often, cultures of the blood or urine can help guide the choice of antibiotic therapy.

Nephrostomy: A tube (catheter) is placed through the skin into the kidney. Urine then drains directly from the kidney, bypassing any blockages in urine flow.

Lithotripsy: Some kidney stones may be shattered into small pieces that can pass in the urine. Most often, lithotripsy is done by a machine that projects ultrasound shock waves through the body.

Nephrectomy: Surgery to remove a kidney. Nephrectomy is performed for kidney cancer or severe kidney damage.
Dialysis: Artificial filtering of the blood to replace the work that damaged kidneys can’t do. Hemodialysis is the most common method of dialysis in the U.S.

Hemodialysis: A person with complete kidney failure is connected to a dialysis machine, which filters the blood and returns it to the body. Hemodialysis is typically done 3 days per week in people with ESRD.
Peritoneal dialysis: Placing large amounts of a special fluid in the abdomen through a catheter allows the body to filter the blood using the natural membrane lining the abdomen. After a while, the fluid with the waste is drained and discarded.

Kidney transplant: Transplanting a kidney into a person with ESRD can restore kidney function. A kidney may be transplanted from a living donor, or from a recently deceased organ donor.
Success Stories

Why do Kidney Fails?

The two most common causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure. People with a family history of any kind of kidney problem are also at risk for kidney disease.

Diabetic Kidney Disease :
Diabetes is a disease that keeps the body from using glucose, a form of sugar, as it should. If glucose stays in the blood instead of breaking down, it can act like a poison. Damage to the nephrons from unused glucose in the blood is called diabetic kidney disease. Keeping blood glucose levels down can delay or prevent diabetic kidney disease.

High Blood Pressure :
High blood pressure can damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys. The damaged vessels cannot filter wastes from the blood as they are supposed to. A doctor may prescribe blood pressure medication. ACE inhibitors and ARBs have been found to protect the kidneys even more than other medicines that lower blood pressure to similar levels. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), one of the National Institutes of Health, recommends that people with diabetes or reduced kidney function keep their blood pressure below 130/80.

Glomerular Diseases :
Several types of kidney disease are grouped together under this category, including autoimmune diseases, infection-related diseases, and sclerotic diseases. As the name indicates, glomerular diseases attack the tiny blood vessels, or glomeruli, within the kidney. The most common primary glomerular diseases include membranous nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. The first sign of a glomerular disease is often proteinuria, which is too much protein in the urine. Another common sign is hematuria, which is blood in the urine. Some people may have both proteinuria and hematuria. Glomerular diseases can slowly destroy kidney function. Glomerular diseases are usually diagnosed with a biopsy-a procedure that involves taking a piece of kidney tissue for examination with a microscope. Treatments for glomerular diseases may include immunosuppressive drugs or steroids to reduce inflammation and proteinuria, depending on the specific disease.

Inherited and Congenital Kidney Diseases :
Some kidney diseases result from hereditary factors. Polycystic kidney disease (PKD), for example, is a genetic disorder in which many cysts grow in the kidneys. PKD cysts can slowly replace much of the mass of the kidneys, reducing kidney function and leading to kidney failure. Some kidney problems may show up when a child is still developing in the womb. Examples include autosomal recessive PKD, a rare form of PKD, and other developmental problems that interfere with the normal formation of the nephrons. The signs of kidney disease in children vary. A child may grow unusually slowly, vomit often, or have back or side pain. Some kidney diseases may be silent-causing no signs or symptoms-for months or even years.

Other Causes of Kidney Disease : Poisons and trauma, such as a direct and forceful blow to the kidneys, can lead to kidney disease. Some over-the-counter medicines can be poisonous to the kidneys if taken regularly over a long period of time. Anyone who takes painkillers regularly should check with a doctor to make sure the kidneys are not at risk.

Kidney Transplant Facts :

When does a kidney transplant become necessary?
In End stage kidney disease, the kidneys can function at only a fraction of the normal capacity. Patients with this stage of  will either need to have waste removed from their bloodstream through dialysis or have a kidney transplant to stay alive.

How are the kidneys obtained for a transplant?
Only one donated kidney is needed to replace two failed kidneys, which means that compatible persons can donate one of their kidneys safely . Laparoscopy is usually used to remove the donor kidney. Advantages include less pain, shorter hospital stay, a more rapid return to normal activities, and a smaller, less noticeable scar.

Alternatively, patients awaiting transplant will go on a kidney transplant waiting list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor.

How is the kidney transplant performed?
The new kidney is placed in the lower abdomen. Unless existing kidneys are causing complications such as high blood pressure, kidney stones, pain or infection, they are left in place.The blood vessels of the new kidney are attached to blood vessels in the lower part of the abdomen. The new kidney’s ureter is connected to the urinary bladder. Kidney transplant surgery usually lasts about three to four hours.

What happens post transplant?
After a successful kidney transplant, the new kidney will filter blood and also start producing urine.To prevent the body from rejecting the new kidney, medications to suppress the immune system will have to be taken life long.

How to Finding Donor?

Finding a donor : A kidney donor can be living or deceased, related or unrelated to you. Your health care team will consider several factors, such as blood and tissue types, when evaluating whether a living donor will be a good match for you. Family members are often the most likely to be compatible kidney donors. But many people undergo successful transplants with kidneys donated from people who are not related to them.

If a compatible living donor isn’t available, your name will be placed on a waiting list for a deceased-donor kidney. Because there are fewer available kidneys than there are people waiting for a transplant, the waiting list continues to grow. The waiting time for a deceased-donor kidney is usually a few years.

Paired kidney donation may be an option if you’ve found someone willing to donate a kidney, but the donor’s blood and tissue aren’t compatible with yours. Rather than donating a kidney directly to you, your donor may give a kidney to a person whose blood and tissue is compatible with the donor’s kidney, and you receive a kidney from another transplantee’s donor.

What is the cost for Kidney Transplant in India?

Kidney transplant cost in India :

With Comparison of Countries:

Top Ten Hospitals for Kidney Transplant in India:

1. Medanta Hospital Gurgaon Delhi India  : 

Medanta’s massive 2.1 million sq. ft. campus provides 1,600+ beds and houses facilities for over 22+ super-specialties, all under one roof. Each floor is dedicated to a specialisation to ensure that they function as independent hospitals within a hospital and yet have the comfort of collaborating on complex cases. Patients are provided with multiple options for treatment, the most suitable of which are arrived at through a cross-function, cross-specialisation committee such as Tumor board that decides the best course of action.

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2. Fortis Hospital (Bangalore, Karnataka) : 

Fortis Healthcare Limited is a leading integrated healthcare delivery service provider in India. The healthcare verticals of the company primarily comprise hospitals, diagnostics and day care specialty facilities. Currently, the company operates its healthcare delivery services in India, Dubai and Sri Lanka with 43 healthcare facilities (including projects under development), approximately 9,000 potential beds and over 400 diagnostics centres.

In a global study of the 30 most technologically advanced hospitals in the world, its flagship, the Fortis Memorial Research Institute’ (FMRI), was ranked No.2, by ‘topmastersinhealthcare.com, and placed ahead of many other outstanding medical institutions in the world.

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3. Indraprastha Apollo Hospital Delhi India : 

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital is the India’s First Hospital which is Internationally Accredited by Joint Commission International(JCI) is the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. It is the best multi-speciality tertiary acute care hospitals with over 700 beds. It consists of highest number of transplants in a single hospital having the best solid Organ Transplant Units. It is spread over 15 acres of land and has a built-up area of 600,000 square feet. Currently the hospital has 695 beds and expanding it to 1000 beds till this year. It is the First Hospital to perform a Paediatric Liver Transplant in 1998 and Liver Transplant Kidney transplant programs in the country. It consists mainly of 52 Specialties under one roof and one of the largest Dialysis Units and has a latest best-in-Class Medical technologies like PET-MR(Positron Emission Tomography – Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET-CT( Positron Emission Tomography – CT scan X rays), , Portable CT Scanner, Novalis Tx, Tilting MRI Brain Lab Navigation System, Cobalt based HDR Brachytherapy, DSA Lab, Hyperbaric Chamber , 3 Tesla MRI, Fibroscan, Endosonography, 128 Slice CT scanner and many more are used to provide world-class care. Apollo Cancer Institute is a Comprehensive Cancer care centre of cancers which includes the most advanced Radiation Oncology Centre.

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4. AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), Delhi

All-India Institute of Medical Sciences was established as an institution of national importance by an Act of Parliament with the objects to develop patterns of teaching in Undergraduate and Post-graduate Medical Education in all its branches so as to demonstrate a high standard of Medical Education in India; to bring together in one place educational facilities of the highest order for the training of personnel in all important branches of health activity; and to attain self-sufficiency in Post-graduate Medical Education.

The Institute has comprehensive facilities for teaching, research and patient-care. As provided in the Act, AIIMS conducts teaching programs in medical and para-medical courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and awards its own degrees. Teaching and research are conducted in 42 disciplines. In the field of medical research AIIMS is the lead, having more than 600 research publications by its faculty and researchers in a year. AIIMS also runs a College of Nursing and trains students for B.Sc.(Hons.) Nursing post-certificate) degrees.

Twenty-five clinical departments including four super specialty centers manage practically all types of disease conditions with support from pre- and Para-clinical departments. However, burn cases, dog-bite cases and patients suffering from infectious diseases are not entertained in the AIIMS Hospital. AIIMS also manages a 60-beded hospital in the Comprehensive Rural Health Centre at Ballabgarh in Haryana and provides health cover to about 2.5 lakh population through the Centre for Community Medicine.

Objectives of AIIMS :
To develop a pattern of teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in all its branches so as to demonstrate high standard of medical education to all medical colleges and other allied institutions in India.
To bring together in one place educational facilities of the highest order for the training of the personnel in all important branches of the health activity.
to attain self sufficiency in postgraduate in medical education.

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5. Jaslok Hospital Mumbai India

Jaslok Hospital was set up in 1973 with a very simple mission. Our founders, Jasoti and Lokoomal Chanrai, wanted to ensure that we provide the best possible medical care using state-of-the-art technology to every single patient.

Our Mission
To make Jaslok Hospital the most respected medical institution of india.

Providing the highest quality patient care.
Nurturing and delivering clinical excellence and research.
Doing charity to humanity irrespective of caste, race or denominations.

Our Vision
To be the hospital of choice for patients, physicians and employees by providing state-of the art medical care with compassion and dignity.

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6. Manipal Hospital (Bangalore, Karnataka):

Manipal Hospital, Bangalore is known as the centre for kidney transplantation ever since its inception in 1991. The faculty include best nephrologist in Bangalore who have expertise to transfer kidney from a healthy person to a patient whose kidneys have lost the capability of performing the required process of filtration.Under the guidance of well qualified nephrologists and transplant surgeons, the Department of Kidney Transplants offers quality services which are at par with the high standards prevailing world wide. Hence, it is one of the best nephrology hospital in India.

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7. Gleneagles Global Hospital, Perumbakkam, Chennai:

Gleneagles Global Health City, the sprawling 21-acre facility located in Perumbakkam, Chennai is the largest facility of Gleneagles Global Hospitals India. With a capacity of over 1000 beds and accreditations from leading agencies, the facility is Asia’s most trusted and leading Multi-Organ Transplant Centre. The hospital has undertaken several path-breaking Liver, Neuro, Heart, Lung and Kidney procedures. It is recognized by several international and national level accrediting agencies. World-class infrastructure, dedicated staff and a commitment for medical excellence are the USPs of this facility. The hospital has several achievements to its credit and continues to work on several pioneering procedures.
Gleneagles Global Hospitals has multi-super speciality hospitals in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. The brand is the most preferred hospital group for multi-organ transplants in Asia region. The parent entity of Gleneagles Global Hospitals is IHH Healthcare, a leading premium integrated healthcare provider with a network of 84 hospitals and more than 16,000 licensed beds. It is one of the largest healthcare groups in the world by market capitalisation and is listed in the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia and Main Board of SGX-ST. IHH is a leading player in the home markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and India, and in their key growth markets of China and Hong Kong

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8. MIOT Hospital Chennai:

Padmashri Prof. Dr. P. V. A. Mohandas started the Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (M.I.O.T) on 12 February, 1999, as a 70-bed hospital, with full-time doctors, focussed primarily on Orthopaedics and Trauma Care. It was soon apparent that some of the trauma patients, often brought there in a critical condition, came with pre-existing conditions involving the heart, kidneys, etc. In order to stabilise and deliver complete end-to-end care to these patients, these pre existing conditions had to be managed along with providing trauma care. In other cases, patients were brought in with injuries to their organs. Treating such conditions called for the expertise of specialists. Given the nature of trauma care, it was important to have full-time specialists so that the right care could be delivered on time. Thus MIOT Hospitals / International came to be.

With the addition of more specialities to address key health areas, and investment in the latest medical technology and the best talent, we are, today, able to deliver collaborative, multi-speciality care.

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9. Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai

SevenHills Hospital is a leading healthcare service provider in India. The healthcare verticals of the hospital primarily comprise of diagnostics, hospitals, and day care specialty services and facilities.

SevenHills Group has over three decades of experience in the healthcare sector. It is an expert in providing quality healthcare and valuable services, supported by a team of compassionate and dedicated medical professionals. The Hospital, a healthcare landmark, has been a household name to more than 50 million Indians. It offers state-of-the-art in-patient and out-patient facilities, focusing on the comfort and safety of patients and their loved ones.

A forerunner in integrated healthcare, SevenHills Hospital has a robust presence in over 30 super specialties in the healthcare spectrum. It has emerged as one of the trusted integrated healthcare provider in Asia, and treats all patients (both domestic and international) alike.

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10. BLK Hospital New Delhi

Dr. B L Kapur, an eminent Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, set up a Charitable Hospital in 1930 at Lahore. In 1947, he moved to post-partition India and set up a Maternity Hospital at Ludhiana. In 1956 on the invitation of the then Prime Minister, Dr. B L Kapur initiated the project for setting up a 200 bed hospital in Delhi. The hospital was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru on 2nd January, 1959.

By 1984, when the hospital celebrated its Silver Jubilee, it was an expanding hospital well on its way to becoming Delhi’s premier multispecialty institute. Services offered included General Surgery, Ophthalmology, ENT, Dentistry, Pulmonology, Intensive Care and Orthopedics, apart from mother & child care.

A factor of much importance to the hospital was the health of the community. Enthusiastic doctors held camps and public health talks to improve the status of community health in the area.

In the late 1990s, the Trustees of the hospital felt the need to upgrade it to a tertiary care hospital and tied up with Radiant Life Care Private Limited to re-develop and manage the facility. Today, a modern state-of-the-art tertiary care hospital has come up in place of the old hospital. It is one of the biggest stand alone private Hospitals in the National Capital Region today.

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 Best doctors for Kidney Transplant in India:

Dr. Bejoy Abraham – Hospital : Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai

Dr. Jyotsna Zope – Hospital : SL Raheja, Mumbai

Dr. Sundar Sankaran – Hospital : Manipal Hospital, Bangalore