Kidney transplantation is one of the true success stories of modern medicine. The concept of transferring organs between people is not a new one, and the surgical procedure of kidney transplantation itself is also relatively straightforward. However, it was only with increased understanding of the immunology of rejection and the development of effective anti-rejection medication that this operation became a viable option for people with end-stage renal failure.

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Kidney transplants work well. The overall patient survival is 95% at one year and 90% at two years. The one-year graft survival is 80%. Graft survival means that the transplanted kidney is still in the recipient and working. The one-year graft survival for living related transplants is 90%. Results are better with living donor kidneys because the genetic match is usually better between relatives, and these kidneys do not need to spend any time in storage.

Quality of life with a well-functioning kidney transplant is vastly superior to that on lifelong dialysis. Transplant recipients are independent and feel much better than they did while on dialysis. Haemodialysis has the problem of trice-weekly trips to the dialysis machine at the hospital, and peritoneal dialysis has the complication of daily fluid exchanges into and out of the abdomen. (See alternatives.)

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