Conditions & Treatments
Kidney and Pancreas Transplant
Einstein's team specializes in cutting-edge video-assisted and minimally-invasive kidney transplant techniques to best serve our patients. We treat patients who are HIV positive and provide transplants to those patients when kidneys are available.
Living Kidney Donor Transplant
The most popular kidney transplant option is a living kidney donor. Receiving a donor kidney from a relative, friend or even acquaintance eliminates the wait for a suitable organ. Donating an organ is truly giving the gift of life and living donors are remarkable people who have made an incredible sacrifice for transplant patients.
Living kidney donors must be deemed medically and physiologically suitable to donate to a patient in need of a transplant.
Deceased Kidney Donor Transplant
Patients on the kidney transplant waiting list are eligible for organs from deceased organ donors, who selflessly decided to give someone else the gift of life. Wait time for a deceased donor kidney usually takes between four and six years.
Dialysis
When it comes time for a patient to get a new kidney, the surgeons of Einstein’s Kidney and Pancreas Transplant division will be with them through the entire spectrum of care, starting with dialysis access. We specialize in fibula access and difficult access patients. Physicians can call to receive expedited appointments for their patients. Physicians can speak directly with an Einstein Transplant team member at 215-606-7167 to refer a patient or for more information.
Day of Surgery
Einstein's clinical coordinator will call you immediately when a suitable kidney is available and allocated to you. You will be instructed to travel to the designated Einstein location right away and begin preparing for surgery. Typically, a kidney transplant procedure will take between two-and-a-half to four hours, depending on prior surgical history and your present medical condition. Kidney transplant recipients should expect to remain in post-operative care for at least five days after surgery.
Evaluation & Waiting List
Patients must schedule a kidney transplant evaluation at one of Einstein’s kidney transplantation locations in order to become eligible for a kidney transplant.
You will meet Einstein's kidney transplant team and learn about the transplant process at your evaluation. Please bring any previous test results, as well as copies of CAT, MRI, ultrasound, endoscopy, colonoscopy and other scans, to your appointment.
If you are currently on dialysis, do not assume you are on the kidney transplant list. To improve the possibility of receiving a kidney, transplant candidates are allowed to register at two or more transplant centers. Speak to your healthcare provider to register at Einstein and additional hospitals located near your home.