Every organ is vital to the human body because organs cooperate to sustain life, and each organ has a distinct role in this cooperation. The kidneys filter waste products from the blood and excrete them in urine. They also help maintain fluid and electrolyte balance. When waste substances cannot be removed, they build up and cause various illnesses. People whose kidneys stop working need treatment called dialysis. Dialysis mechanically filters wastes that accumulate in the bloodstream when the kidneys fail. However, it requires a substantial commitment of time, often three days a week for approximately four and a half hours per session, and can be exhausting for patients.
Kidney transplantation is a surgical treatment for chronic kidney failure. A healthy kidney is removed from a living or deceased donor whose blood group is compatible with the recipient and whose crossmatch test is negative, and is then transplanted into the patient.
Kidney transplantation is presented in the source as the most effective treatment intended to provide a durable solution to end-stage kidney failure. The source states that, even under optimal conditions, dialysis can perform only about 5% of the work of two healthy kidneys, whereas a transplanted kidney can perform about ten times as much. Transplantation therefore frees the patient from dialysis and can make it possible to resume an active life. Patients may no longer need the same fluid and dietary restrictions, erythropoietin injections for red blood cell production, or some medications. They often feel more energetic and able to return to work, may find employment more easily, and may experience improvements in sexual health. The source also notes that women may find it easier to become pregnant and give birth after a successful transplant.
The source reports that kidney transplant recipients live at least three times longer than comparable patients on dialysis, and that one year's cost to the state for a patient with end-stage kidney disease is six times that of a transplant recipient. It also states that 75% of children with chronic kidney failure develop growth retardation, 70% have hypertension, and 90% have anemia, and that approximately 20% die during follow-up. These are historical source claims and should be reviewed before being used as current clinical statistics.
In summary, the principal benefits are:
- Longer expected survival
- A healthier life with improved quality of life
- Lower treatment costs
- Reducing the loss of working capacity and enabling people to return to productive work
Kidney transplantation may use kidneys from either deceased or living donors. Whereas the source gives proportions of 70–80% deceased donors and 20–30% living donors in developed countries, it notes the reverse pattern in Türkiye. For patients with an eligible living donor, the best timing is early in dialysis treatment, preferably before dialysis begins (preemptive transplantation). Patients awaiting a deceased-donor kidney may develop conditions that prevent or delay transplantation, or may even die while waiting.