Kidney failure, or End-Stage Renal Disease, is a permanent condition where the kidney
is no longer able to function, and a transplant may be necessary.
To determine if your child needs a transplant, we will begin a detailed evaluation.
You will meet with our specialized team, and discuss the surgery, the hospital stay, and
any at-home needs your child may have.
Our team includes pediatric transplant nephrologists, pediatric transplant surgeons, urologists,
and many others.
Your child will also need several tests, including blood work, an ultrasound, and a bladder evaluation.
We treat children of all ages, including young adults, and children as small as 10 kilograms,
or 22 pounds.
If a transplant is the best option for your child, they will be eligible for both live-donor
transplants and a gift of life from a deceased donor, via the national UNOS transplant list.
In a “Live Donor Transplant,” a healthy adult, usually a relative, donates one of
their kidneys.
Altruistic, total strangers also volunteer.
It can be scheduled at a good time for your family, and gives the option to have a pre-emptive
transplant, if possible.
The donor’s surgery occurs at the University of Colorado, and your child’s occurs at
Children’s, at about the same time.
Both groups work as one big team, remaining in constant communication.
Once the donated kidney arrives, your surgical team will make an incision in your child’s
lower abdomen.
Often, the diseased kidneys are left in place.
However, your surgeon may choose to remove the old kidneys if necessary.
Next, the new kidney is placed in the abdomen.
Then the blood vessels are carefully connected.
Next, the ureter is carefully connected to the bladder.
A stent may be placed in the ureter if necessary.
Finally, the incision is closed.
Although not common, it may be necessary to place a suprapubic catheter, or tube, or perform
a vesicostomy to help restore a healthy level of urine flow, and to help the bladder grow
to a larger size.
After surgery, your child will stay in the ICU usually 1-2 nights, then continue their
stay at the hospital in a regular room another two-to-four days, before going home.
For the first few weeks, you will follow up with a pediatric nephrologist twice a week
to learn how to manage post-operative medications, and lifestyle changes, as your child recovers.
By four-to-six weeks, your child should be fully recovered, and back to age-appropriate
activities, like school, sports, as well as eating a normal, healthy diet.
As your child grows with their new kidney, they will learn how to manage new medications,
and live a healthy lifestyle.
They will also need to have regular checkups and lab work.
At Children’s Hospital Colorado, about half of our kidney donations come from live donors.
We work with the National Kidney Registry, a non-profit that helps decrease wait times,
and increase the quality of matches between living donors and recipients.
We are also proud to work with Donor Alliance, a nonprofit that facilitates deceased organ
donation in Colorado.
Although many diseases can cause the kidney to fail, the most common ones are called Congenital
Abnormalities of the Kidneys and Urinary Tract, or CAKUT.
We have a specialized CAKUT clinic to care for our patients as they wait for a transplant.
Most children who receive a transplant will need to receive another kidney later in life.
We will work with you and your child to make sure that their new kidney lasts as long as
possible.
To learn more, click here, call us, or visit our website by clicking the links below.