Your kidneys are a crucial part of your body. They filter your blood and remove excess fluids, waste, and toxins to keep you healthy. When one or both of your kidneys aren't working correctly, you are at significant risk for health problems.
At Metro Renal Associates in Washington, DC, and Capitol Heights, Maryland, our team is made up of kidney transplant specialists. If you need a new kidney, Dr. Kevin Griffiths, Dr. Cosette Jamieson, and Dr. Oyije Susannah Iheagwara are our three nephrology specialists that can help.
A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure where our team replaces a diseased kidney with a healthy kidney from a donor. Your kidney may come from a deceased person who's donated their kidney or a living donor who willingly gives one of their kidneys.
You need a kidney transplant when your kidneys no longer function, usually due to end-stage renal disease. When this happens, your kidneys can't filter toxins and wastes out of your blood, putting your health at significant risk.
An organ transplant is major surgery but is often necessary when your kidneys no longer work. Our team does a lot of pre-surgical screening to determine if you meet the criteria for a kidney transplant.
Our team performs kidney transplants on patients of all ages, from children to seniors. If you have chronic kidney disease, you're on your way to making the transplant list.
The main criteria for a kidney transplant are end-stage renal disease or ESRD. ESRD is permanent kidney failure. When you have ESRD, your kidneys barely function, and you need dialysis to filter the wastes out of your blood.
If you have ESRD and are undergoing dialysis, our team recommends a kidney transplant instead of a lifetime of dialysis appointments. Our team also considers you for a kidney transplant when you have stage IV or V chronic kidney disease, and your glomerular filtration rate is less than 20ml/min.
Our team evaluates your overall health and ability to heal after surgery to determine if a kidney transplant is the next step in your treatment plan.
Even if you have end-stage renal disease, some circumstances prevent you from receiving a donor's kidney. Our team carefully evaluates your health and body to determine if you can get a kidney transplant.
Some of the reasons that may disqualify you from a kidney transplant include:
You must be healthy enough to undergo surgery and recover with a new kidney. Many of the above conditions affect your health, making it risky for our team to operate on you for a transplant.
To find out if you're a candidate for a kidney transplant, call one of our offices today. You may also send the team a message using our convenient online tool.
