Transplant
The Transplant Journey
Four chapters, one new life.
A transplant is not a single event — it is a journey that begins long before the operating theatre and continues, in your nephrologist’s care, for the rest of your life.
& Workup
Are you a candidate? The careful answer.
a Donor
Living, deceased, paired exchange — the paths to a match.
& Recovery
The day itself, and the weeks that follow.
of Care
Protecting the gift, for as long as it lasts.
The Honest First Question
Evaluation & Workup
Before anything else, a careful answer to one question: is a transplant right for you, and are you right for a transplant? The workup is thorough, and rightly so.
Transplant evaluation begins with a detailed conversation between you, your family, and your nephrologist. From there, you will be referred to a transplant centre for a structured assessment — usually over several visits and a few weeks.
The goal is not to disqualify you. It is to identify and treat anything — a quiet infection, a heart condition, an undetected cancer — that could make transplantation unsafe, and to fix what can be fixed before the surgery. The same careful workup is then conducted for any potential living donor.
A typical evaluation includes
- Detailed medical history and examination
- Blood tests, including blood group and tissue typing (HLA)
- Cardiac assessment — ECG, echocardiogram, stress tests as needed
- Infectious disease screening (HIV, hepatitis, TB, others)
- Cancer screening appropriate for age and risk
- Imaging — chest X-ray, ultrasound, CT as needed
- Dental and ENT clearance
- Psychosocial evaluation — you and your support system
The Match That Makes It Possible
Finding a Donor
A kidney must come from a willing, consenting family member — or, with growing frequency,from a deceased donor whose family has chosen to give the gift of life.
Living donation is the most common route in India and, in many ways, the best: living donor kidneys generally function longer and better than those from deceased donors. They allow surgery to be planned, often before dialysis ever needs to start — what is called a pre-emptive transplant.
Deceased donation is gathering momentum in India. Through state and national networks, patients are registered on a waiting list and matched when a suitable kidney becomes available. The wait varies; the gift, when it comes, is profound.
When a willing living donor isn’t a direct match, options remain. Paired kidney exchange swaps donors between two or more incompatible pairs to create matches for everyone. ABO-incompatible and HLA-desensitisation protocols at advanced centres can also make previously impossible transplants possible.
The Day Itself
Surgery & Recovery
The operation itself is now routine in experienced hands. What matters most is the surgical team, the centre, and the careful weeks that follow.
A kidney transplant typically takes three to four hours. The new kidney is placed in the lower abdomen, usually on the right or left side — your own kidneys are almost always left in place. Most centres in India have decades of experience; in expert hands, the surgery has become reassuringly predictable.
You can expect a hospital stay of five to ten days, with the new kidney often beginning to work within hours. The first few weeks at home involve frequent blood tests, careful infection precautions, and the start of immunosuppressive medications — the drugs that will protect your new kidney from your own immune system for as long as you have it.
Protecting the Gift
A Lifetime of Care
A transplant is not the end of the journey; it is the beginning of a different one. The new kidney lasts longer when its care is steady, thoughtful, and lifelong.
For the first three to six months, follow-up is frequent — weekly to start, then tapering as everything stabilises. Your medications will be adjusted carefully. The team will watch for signs of rejection (usually silent and only visible in lab tests), infection (because immunosuppression makes you more vulnerable), and side effects of the medications themselves.
With good care, well-functioning grafts last fifteen, twenty, even twenty-five years and beyond. The single biggest determinant of how long is consistent, expert nephrology follow-up — not missed appointments, not stopped medications, not forgotten blood tests.
This is the work of decades, and it is exactly the work AKC nephrologists are designed to do.
- Regular nephrology consultations for life
- Routine blood tests — creatinine, drug levels, blood counts
- Immunosuppression management and adjustment
- Infection prevention and prompt treatment
- Cardiovascular and metabolic risk management
- Bone health, blood pressure, cholesterol
- Cancer surveillance (slightly elevated long-term risk)
- Lifestyle, vaccination, and nutrition guidance
Types of Transplant
Not one path. Several.
Depending on your situation and the availability of a donor, your transplant may take one of the following forms.
Most common in India
Living Donor Transplant
A kidney is donated by a willing, consenting family member or close relation, with rigorous medical and legal evaluation under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act. Outcomes are typically the best, and surgery can be planned in advance — even before dialysis begins.
Growing in India
Deceased Donor Transplant
A kidney is gifted by the family of a brain-dead donor through a state or national organ-sharing network. Patients are registered on a waiting list; matching is based on blood group, tissue compatibility, urgency, and waiting time.
When direct match fails
Paired Kidney Exchange (ASTRA)
When your willing living donor is not compatible with you, a swap is arranged between two (or more) incompatible donor-recipient pairs — so each recipient receives a compatible kidney. A growing programme across leading Indian centres.
Specialised protocols
ABO-Incompatible & Desensitisation
Advanced centres can now perform transplants across blood-group barriers, or in patients with high antibody levels, using specialised pre-transplant treatments. Outcomes have improved dramatically — making transplant possible for many who would once have been told no.
A Word About the Donor
For living donors
Modern living donation is extraordinarily safe. Donors undergo the same rigorous medical evaluation as recipients, and the surgery itself is performed laparoscopically in most centres. The vast majority of living donors return to full, normal lives — including pregnancy, work, and sport — with one kidney that more than meets their body’s needs.
For donor families
Deceased donation in India is governed by the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act. It is a free, voluntary act of one family honouring a loved one by saving the lives of others. We owe these families, quite literally, the lives our recipients then live.
Whether you are a recipient, a potential donor, or a family weighing the decision — AKC nephrologists are available to talk it through, without pressure, before any commitment is made.
Our Role in Your Transplant
We don’t perform the surgery.
We walk the entire journey with you.
Transplant surgery itself is done at the centre of your choice, by surgeons you and your family trust. AKC’s role is the continuum of care around it — before, during, and for the rest of your life after. This is what sets a transplant journey at AKC apart.
Preparing you for the best possible outcome
- Candidacy discussion and counselling
- Comprehensive pre-transplant optimisation
- Coordination with your chosen transplant centre
- Donor evaluation support & counselling
- Managing dialysis until the day of surgery
Protecting your new kidney for decades
- Post-discharge handover from surgical team
- Frequent early follow-up & lab monitoring
- Immunosuppression dosing and adjustment
- Rejection surveillance and prompt response
- Lifelong nephrology care — for as long as the kidney lasts
One nephrologist. One record. One continuous arc of care — from the first conversation about transplant to the twentieth year of your new kidney’s life.
What to Expect
The numbers, honestly told.
Outcomes reflect well-functioning transplant programmes internationally. Individual results vary with age, comorbidities, donor type, immunological match, and the quality of long-term follow-up care.
A Conversation Worth Having
The journey begins with a single question.
"Am I a candidate?" — speak to an AKC nephrologist to find out. The conversation is free, confidential, and without obligation. Bring your family. Bring your questions. We have time.
For quick contact :
74000 95950 | info@apexkidneycare.com