I've been told that my child has kidney disease. What are the treatment options?
Kidney Diseases can be fatal in your child if it goes untreated. The diseases can result in a progressive decline in the ability of your child’s kidneys to filter waste from the bloodstream. Treatment options include dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Should my child have dialysis or kidney transplant?
Children may have to depend on dialysis while they wait to receive a kidney transplant. Dialysis is a proven and lifesaving treatment. Any patient can receive dialysis in the United States, regardless of their condition or financial circumstances. Unfortunately, dialysis only provides a small fraction of the essential function kidneys provide. Although dialysis is a life-saving treatment, having chronic kidney failure creates many stresses for your child and your family, including emotional, social, medical and financial issues. At University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital, we are committed to lessening the burden of dialysis on your child and your family through supportive child and family-centered care.

What is kidney transplantation?
Transplantation is the act of surgically removing a kidney from one person and placing it into your child. Transplantation occurs because your child's kidney has failed or has been damaged through illness or injury. The kidney can come from a living donor or from someone who has died.

How will a kidney transplant improve my child’s long-term health?
Kidney transplant can restore much more of your child’s kidney function than dialysis. A majority of patients experience improve strength, stamina and better long term health. Life expectancy increases in young patients compared to remaining on dialysis. 

How safe is a kidney transplant?
The first kidney transplant by University of Minnesota physicians was performed more than 45 years ago. Today our patient survival and transplant success rates are among the highest in the nation. Patient survival rate approach 100 percent and graft sruvival rates are well over 90 percent. (See Success Rates.)

How is my child evaluated for kidney transplant?
There is an evaluation process for kidney transplant candidates. Our goal is to determine which treatment, dialysis or transplantation, will give your child the longest life and best health possible. 

I have been told my child might not be a candidate for kidney transplantation. Is it possible to be evaluated at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital?
The Transplant Center has a long history of addressing surgical and medical challenges. We are often able to accept young patients turned down by other centers. Any pediatric patient on dialysis can be evaluated for kidney transplantation. Ultimately, we will make our recommendation based on what is in the best interest of your child.

How does my child get a kidney?
There are two options for obtaining a kidney: a living donor kidney and a deceased donor kidney. Most transplant candidates are placed on a national waiting list for a deceased donor kidney. However, there are more people on the waiting list than there are available kidneys, which is why an increasing number of transplants are performed with living-donor kidneys. A paired exchange kidney donation might be another option to consider.

Are there restrictions based on age, weight or disease conditions?
Each patient is evaluated on a case by case basis. Our pediatric kidney transplant program has transplanted kidneys in children ranging from infants to young adults.

Who can be a living donor?
Living donors can be blood-related or emotionally related friends, family or community members. In addition, our program includes non-directed living donor and pair-exchange programs.

What is a Paired Exchange Kidney Donation? 
A paired exchange donation consists of two kidney donor/recipient pairs whose blood types are not compatible. For example, perhaps there are two children who both need a kidney transplant. Their fathers are willing to donate their kidneys, but they are not compatible matches with their children. The two child recipients could trade donors if there is a cross match. In other words, each child recipient could receive a kidney from the other child's father If they have compatible blood types. Once the evaluations of all donors and recipients are completed, the two kidney transplant operations could be scheduled to occur at the same time.

Is the living donor operation safe?
Our first successful living donor and her sister who received her donated kidney both enjoyed long and healthy lives. The surgery to remove a kidney has undergone many improvements since our first living donor transplant in 1963. A recent living donor study at the University of Minnesota showed that living donors have a life span similar to the general population. They also have an excellent quality of life.

How long will my child be in the hospital for a kidney transplant?
The hospital stay for a pediatric kidney transplant patient at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital averages between one and two weeks.

What do I need to do after my child’s kidney transplant?
In order to help ensure your child’s long-term success, there are many precautions they will have to follow as a kidney transplant patient. Your child’s post-transplant coordinator will help outline your child’s post-transplant care.  

Does my child need to return to the hospital after transplant?
Organ rejection is a concern after transplantation. Your child will be required to schedule follow-up visits at The Transplant Center.  

What are the most common problems after kidney transplantation?
Although infrequent, the most common complications of a kidney transplant are organ rejection and infection. 

What happens if my child’s kidney fails? Can my child get another kidney transplant?
It is not uncommon for patients to receive a second kidney if the first transplant eventually fails. Some patients may need even more than two transplants over time. Each candidate is evaluated individually. Our first priority is to recommend the treatment that offers the best possible outcome.

How will we pay for our child’s kidney transplant and his or her medications?
If a kidney transplant is deemed medically necessary, the patient's health insurance often covers the majority of the costs. Click on the Financial Services link for more information on paying for the transplant.

Who oversees transplantation and transplant centers?
An organization called United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is contracted by the federal government to administer deceased donor organ waiting list. UNOS also collects data regarding patient outcomes.