If your kidneys no longer function enough for them to live without renal
therapy intervention, dialysis and a kidney transplant may be the treatment
options. Kidney transplantation is considered the treatment of choice for many
patients with Renal Failure, and end-stage renal disease because quality of life
and survival are often better than in people on dialysis. Then, how long can you
live if you have a kidney transplant?
A successful kidney transplant can help return you to a state of good health.
Your quality of life can be improved and the risk of dying from kidney disease
is reduced. In addition, you do not require hours of daily dialysis
treatment.
Generally speaking, a living donor kidney functions, on average, 12 to 20
years, and a deceased donor kidney from 8 to 12 years. Younger adults benefit
the most from a transplantation.
Besides, there are also many disadvantages of kidney transplant as
following:
1. This treatment is a major surgical procedure and it has risks both during
and after the surgery, such as infection, bleeding, damage to the surrounding
organs, or even death.
2. You have to wait for a long time before you receive a donor kidney.
3. Not everyone is able to receive th is treatment. Usually, you will not
have a transplant if you have an active infection, in older age, and severe
heart or vascular disease, etc.
4. After the transplantation, you must take medications and have frequent
monitoring to minimize the chance of organ injection for your entire lifetime.
The medicines also have significant and bothersome side effects.
A transplant is a treatment to sustain normal life, however, not a cure for
Renal Failure. It does nothing to the kidney damage. If your transplant fails,
you have to go back to dialysis.
Is there any better way to prolong your life expectancy? The answer is "Yes".
This is the new therapy for kidney disease known as Immunotherapy. Refer to
"Natural Way to Repair the Damaged Kidneys in Kidney Failure: Immunotherapy"for
better understanding.