subject: Kidney Transplant [print this page] Kidneys are two vital organs that play major roles in the body. They are responsible for the removal of waste products and excess fluid from the blood as urine. The kidneys also produce and regulate hormones, which control blood pressure and stimulate the production of red blood cells. Unfortunately, for various reasons an individual can experience kidney failure that is a life threatening condition requiring medical treatment. Chronic kidney failure means the kidneys have been damaged over a period of time and they are permanently damaged and will not recover.
Hemodialysis is a therapy used to remove waste and extra fluids from the patient's blood. During the hemodialysis process, the blood is pumped through a soft tube into a dialysis machine that has a special filter called a dialyzer or artificial kidney. Your doctor and your dietitian are the best people to know the kidney transplant diet for you. Follow their advice. Start adopting a healthy lifestyle. Quit smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, when a physician recommends kidney transplantation and the patient elects to undergo this procedure, they will be placed on a waiting list and it may take several years for a donor that is the correct match to be found.
A lot of patients consider that a doing well kidney transplant offers a improved value of life since it lets greater freedom and frequently is related with energy levels greater than before and a less restricted diet. As an individual's kidneys fail, three treatment alternatives are accessible: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation. The majority of people who accept a kidney transplant enjoy a high quality of life. Kidney transplant from deceased donors can come from those whose hearts are still beating but are brain dead, as well as from non-heartbeating donors. The kidney can survive on ice for several hours before transplant so that technically, a person can be deceased and still donate their kidneys.
In situations where the kidney transplant recipient is a diabetic, the pancreas is also sometimes transplanted at the same time in order to turn around some of the diabetes the individual has. In many cases the kidney will immediately begin to function by creating urine when the blood begins to flow through it, however, in some cases it may take a few weeks before the kidney begins to function properly. If you want to ensure the success of the surgery, you need to take time in preparing your meals and forego the instant meals. Pre-packaged foods and fast foods have high contents of monosodium glutamate, which stresses your transplanted kidney. Once the transplant is complete the patient is put on specific medication to avert the body from rejecting the new kidney. These medications will have to be taken the entire time the patient has the transplant.
After the transplant, the patient will require taking special medications to prevent the body from rejecting the new kidney. Kidney transplant compared to dialysis can provide improved quality of life and life expectancy. Here the patient will not need to spend several hours every week having dialysis and will not require special dialysis diets and fluid limits.
