Kidney Transplant

While the surgeons do many technical operations here, this one might be the most spectacular. It requires two teams of 4 surgeons and 2 different rooms. And, as an observer of the surgery, I had the privilege of watching each part and moving room to room.

The surgery began in the room with the nephrectomy of the donor. It was a very clean surgery, taking only 30 or 40 minutes. I had been so accustomed to surgeries where large tumors were removed after traversing 3 inches of fat. This was nothing like that. Simultaneously, in the room next door, the surgeons removed the diseased kidney from the recipient and were preparing the site for the transplant. When both rooms were ready, the kidney was removed. According to the doctor, the kidney can go a little over an hour without oxygen before the risk of failure begins to climb. The clock was ticking... First, the kidney treated with an electrolytic solution called Bretschneider solution. After about 15 minutes of treatment, the kidney was moved to the other room and placed in the recipient. First, the surgeons attached the renal vein and followed with the renal artery. Without a blood supply, the kidney had turned almost white. The moment all the blood vessels had been reattached, the doctors released the clamp on the renal artery and vein, and the kidney quickly turned a dark red. It was the moment of truth for the surgeon. It told them that everything was connected right. The surgery finished up with the connection of the ureter, which delivers urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Despite being only one vessel, this part actually took almost an hour. Since the ureter, like the blood vessel, must be hollow to function properly, it took a lot of precision. All in all, the surgery took about 4 hours.

X-ray of the ureters of the donor.

Nephrectomy on donor.

Nephrectomy on donor (part 2).

Kidney in electrolytic solution being prepared for the transfer to recipient.


The kidney being moved to the recipient from the solution.


The surgeons connect the connective tissue to the new kidney.

After the clamps were released on the blood vessels, the kidney fills with blood and turns the healthy red. It was the moment of truth for the surgeons.

The surgeons are preparing the ureter on the kidney to be connected to the ureter of the recipient.