Why choose Loyola for kidney transplants?

A successful transplant starts the moment you walk in the door. We are thorough in our testing and complete in our patient education. We provide personalized care and will make the process comprehensive for you and your family. Loyola’s doctors, nurse coordinators and nutritionists will ensure that you are in the best possible state of health before transplant surgery and prepared for the next chapter in your life.

Whether you need a kidney or a multi-organ transplant, Loyola’s highly skilled transplant team will provide the most advanced care. As part of an academic medical center, Loyola’s doctors perform and teach the latest surgical techniques and medical practices.

Our kidney transplant surgeons practices are aggressive in finding you a kidney. We have high rates of organ acceptance and have the shortest times to transplant in the region; without compromising the outcomes of the patient and the organs. You can see our results and compare to other centers at the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) (ILLU Overview | SRTR Data Visualization).

Our transplant team is often consulted by doctors at other hospitals because of their expertise and experience and Loyola's nephrology care is recognized by U.S. News & World Report.

We would welcome offering you a second opinion.

What are the different types of kidney transplants?

Transplant patients can receive kidneys from living and deceased organ donors. Loyola offers several options for successful kidney transplantation; your transplant team will recommend the right one for you.

• Deceased donor — When a patient with advanced kidney disease or end-stage kidney disease can’t find a suitable living donor, a match can occur through a deceased donor. A patient is placed on the national waiting list maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Your wait time will depend on many factors, but mainly on the time you have been on dialysis. For more information about Loyola's kidney transplant program's outcomes with deceased donors, visit the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) that regularly updates program outcomes Find and Compare Transplant Programs (srtr.org).

If you get listed before needing dialysis, your best option is to find a living donor.

• Living donor — Kidneys from a healthy living donor, whether from a family member, friend or someone you don’t know, are the best option for a kidney transplant because they tend to have the best short and long term outcomes. Learn about our living kidney donor program. You can get a living donor transplant even if your donor is incompatible. Here are some options: 
   
  • Incompatible living donor — Successful living donor transplantation can occur in some instances of incompatibility. This can be done using plasmapheresis to clean the blood from harmful antibodies that may attack the donor kidney. 
     
  • Paired donor exchange/swap — Often kidney patients waiting for transplant surgery will find a living donor who is not compatible with their blood and tissue type. However, a match may exist with another pair in the same situation and the kidney recipients may swap kidney donors. Loyola Medicine offers this paired kidney donor exchange/swap pay-it-forward program.

What diseases are treated with kidney transplant?

Loyola’s transplant nephrologists and transplant surgeons are well-versed in every type of kidney disease. Some conditions that lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the need for a kidney transplant include:

Evaluation and wait list for kidney transplants

If your nephrologist recommends a kidney transplant as the next step in your care, your healthcare team will confirm that your renal function is close to 20mg/dl or under to start your kidney transplant evaluation.

The evaluation has several steps, and we will guide you through the process. As a first step you will be educated and then sign a consent for transplant evaluation in order to move forward.

Loyola physicians first will take a detailed personal and medical history before conducting a physical examination. Several tests will be ordered to assess the status of your health. We will be there with you every step of the way, informing you of your test results and next steps.

Depending on your condition, your doctor may require these tests, among others:

Some conditions that may be barriers to transplant surgery include but are not limited to:

The Medical Review Board will discuss your case and decide whether you are a good candidate for a kidney transplant. If so, you will be placed on the national waiting list with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Your wait time for a deceased-donor kidney depends on many factors, including your medical urgency and compatibility to the donor. However, there is minimal waiting time for transplantation if you have a friend or relative interested in living kidney donation.

What to expect with kidney transplant surgery

Once a kidney becomes available, your medical team will quickly make the arrangements for the surgery and your hospital stay. Your nurse coordinator will inform you and your family about where to go and when to arrive.

You will undergo a few final tests for infection, fever and other serious conditions as well as several blood tests, chest X-ray and EKG. You also may undergo a dialysis session.

In the operating room, you will receive general anesthesia and be set up for an IV. A catheter will be placed in your bladder to monitor urine production during surgery. The surgery will last approximately three to four hours.

Your existing kidneys, or native kidneys, will be left in place, near the back of your abdomen, unless your doctor determines there is a medical reason to remove them. The transplanted kidney will be placed in your pelvis.

Robotic kidney transplant surgery at Loyola Medicine

Robotic kidney transplant surgery is also done under general anesthesia. The surgeon will make a small incision in the upper part of the abdomen. This incision is used to insert the kidney in the abdomen without creating damage. The surgeon will also make four keyhole incisions to insert the instrument. The entire surgery will be done inside the abdomen through a camera.

This procedure is designed to help patients with obesity get transplants and minimize their chances of wound infection. The infection rate of the wound is about 5% if you have normal BMI (between 19-25 Kg/m²) or overweight (BMI is 26-30 Kg/m²). Wound infection rates significantly increase at BMI >30 Kg/m² to rates in the 30% to 40%.

With robotic surgery, the main incision is now moved to the upper part of the abdomen and it is significantly smaller, decreasing infection rates to those observed in individuals with normal BMI at 5%.

Recovery after kidney transplant surgery

You will be closely monitored after surgery and your nurses will be there to assess your pain and administer medication to make you comfortable. You will be asked to start walking and try some deep breathing exercises to prevent pulmonary complications.

If needed, physical therapists will work with you to help you get up and walking. You will have a catheter for a few days to help your bladder recover from transplant surgery. Most recipients go home four to six days after surgery.

You will be prescribed immunosuppression medications to prevent transplant rejection. Within the first day, you may notice a difference in how you feel due to your new, healthy kidney. Your recovery will likely take six to eight weeks.

Kidney recipients are followed quite closely during the first year after transplant surgery with frequent lab and clinic visits along with possible kidney biopsy tests, as needed, to help identify any signs of rejection. Visits with your Loyola nephrologist will become less frequent and your general nephrologist will become more involved in your care. Eventually you will only need to see our transplant physicians once a year.

Should you ever have a question, your transplant care team is available around the clock. Please call us anytime.

Comprehensive donor programs for kidney transplant recipients

Loyola Medicine’s kidney transplant physicians continue to embrace innovation and new developments in transplantation to provide you with different possibilities and options to cross barriers to transplantation.

These are a few options to consider for faster transplantation:

Robotic kidney transplantation (for patients with obesity)

• Obesity is one of the major barriers to transplantation. Body mass index (BMI) is a metric calculated by your height and your weight. Obesity is defined by a BMI that exceed 30.kg/m². Most transplant centers will not qualify individuals with BMI surpassing 35Kg/m².
• The use of robotic technology allows our transplant surgeons to perform transplantation for patients with any BMI above 35Kg/m². Loyola does not use BMI to disqualify kidney transplant candidates.
• Robotic surgery is a minimally invasive approach to transplant using a small incision in the upper part of the abdomen to insert the new kidney. Four small key-hole incisions are also made to introduce instruments and perform the surgery from inside the abdomen. The length of the surgery is similar to open surgery on lean individuals. Recovery after the transplant surgery is expedited and comparable to open procedure.

Loyola Medicine’s living kidney donor tranplant program

Living kidney donation is the best quality kidney you can hope for. If you have family or a friend that is willing to donate a kidney to you but they are incompatible, we can achieve the same outcomes through Loyola’s paired exchange (Pay-It-Forward) program.

Our dedicated living donor team is also well informed of all resources to help donors and support their needs. We work with donors from out of state and help facilitate evaluations locally to minimize the disruption on their lives.

If you do not have a living donor at this time, we encourage you to look at posting your needs in social media to motivate individuals for an altruistic donation. You can use this link to post in your social medial platforms and donors will register anonymously. Make sure they link (Register as a potential donor - Donor Registration (donorscreen.org) their interest to your name and date of birth.

Expanded criteria deceased donor options

We offer some options that may help increase the possibility of getting transplanted sooner, jumping ahead on the waiting list. Considering donors with some factors explained below helps facilitate a faster transplant, the following donors require special discussion, and you consent to opt in in UNOS:

Donors testing positive for Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a virus infection that affects the liver and may cause advanced liver disease if left untreated. Currently, there are new treatments that treat hepatitis C and eliminates the virus from the body.

Kidney donors are tested three times for multiple transmissible diseases, including hepatitis C. We will know ahead of transplant if the donor is positive for hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C is transmitted from the organ to the recipient 100% of the time. Hepatitis C is curable with medications by mouth with the treatment lasting 8-12 weeks long before the virus is eradicated.

When you get transplanted with a donor that is known to be infected with hepatitis C, we begin testing the recipient for hepatitis C infection after transplantation on a weekly basis. If transmission is detected, we begin treatment against the infection as soon as we get approval for coverage by the insurance. Because the infection is treated very early, there is no possibility to cause long term liver damage.

Accepting a kidney from a hepatitis C donor can move a recipient higher on the recipient list and will get a faster organ than others who are not willing take those organs. This is an option you can accept or decline.

You may change your mind anytime and at the time of the organ offer, your coordinator will present you with that information. Declining the organ offer will not change your position on Loyola’s organ transplant list.

Donors testing positive for Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a virus infection that may lead to advanced liver disease if not adequately treated. Currently, there are medications to help control the infection and leave the virus dormant in your body.

Kidney donors are tested three times for multiple transmissible diseases, including hepatitis B. We will know ahead of transplant if the donor is positive for hepatitis B.

Candidates for a kidney transplant that are vaccinated against hepatitis B are suitable to receive these types of organ donors. When you come in for evaluation we check if you have been properly vaccinated against hepatitis B through blood testing.

The possibility of infection from hepatitis B with organ transplantation in vaccinated recipients is very low (approximately 4%).

If you accept a kidney from a donor organ that tested positive for hepatitis B, you will start on medications the day of your transplant surgery and will be required to take these medications for at least one year. The risk of developing liver disease with treatment is very low (under 1%).

You can review the organ offer with our coordinator and decide not to accept it, even if you initially agree to it. We do not change your listing at Loyola if you ultimately decided not to take the risk.

Incompatible blood groups for kidney transplantation

Blood type B is an uncommon blood type and there are less available donors for that smaller group of candidates which create longer wait times.

Blood type O is a common blood type and donors with this blood type are considered to be “universal donors” as they can donate to all blood groups without causing reactions.

Blood type A is the most common blood type group. Type A donors can also be divided into subtype A1 and subtype A2. Subtype A2 donors are weak "A" and may be considered as if they are blood type O.

In order to increase the pool of donors for the blood group B candidates, you can opt in to receive organs from blood subtype A2 donors with very low risk of causing incompatibility. By opting in, you will increase the size of thedonor pool and increase your chances of transplantation.

What are the risks of kidney transplant surgery?

Receiving a kidney transplant can be life-saving for patients with end-stage kidney disease. Your new, healthy kidney will eliminate the need for dialysis treatments and you may feel more energy within the first days after surgery.

Your Loyola transplant team will discuss the risks and benefits of transplant surgery with you prior to the procedure. Some of the risks of kidney transplant surgery include:

Your highly skilled Loyola transplant surgeon will work to reduce the risk of complications during and after your surgery.

Your transplant care team is available around the clock should you have a question or concern. Please call us anytime.

Convenient kidney transplant facilities in Chicago and surrounding cities

Loyola offers transplant facilities and kidney disease treatment options from our expert transplant specialists at a number of our locations across Chicagoland including:

• Loyola Medicine Burr Ridge
• Loyola Medicine Homer Glen
• Loyola Medicine Park Ridge
• Loyola Outpatient Center
• Loyola University Medical Center

Ongoing clinical trials to advance kidney transplant research

Loyola is conducting research today to find the surgical and medical treatments of tomorrow. Loyola patients will be granted access to the latest medications and therapies through our clinical trials.