Hundreds of Nevadans are alive today as a result of the care they received at the UMC Center for Transplantation, the only facility in Nevada providing the advanced level of care required for transplant patients.
A kidney transplant can double to triple the life expectancy of a patient when compared to dialysis. Although dialysis is a life-saving treatment for people with end-stage kidney disease, there is no man-made technology that can exactly mimic the function of a human kidney. Living donors offer the best and longest outcomes. Studies show that living donations are safe for healthy donors and that the kidney donors also enjoy a normal lifespan after donation.
In 2015, UMC performed 78 kidney transplants. That means 78 people were offered a second chance at life with renewed energy, health and hope. Since the UMC Center for Transplantation’s first kidney transplant on Christmas Day 1989, hundreds of fathers, mothers, sons and daughters have been given the opportunity to live full lives.
The team at the UMC Center for Transplantation is committed to educating community members about the process of receiving a kidney transplant and the importance of follow-up care. Kidney transplant recipients typically include individuals who are on dialysis but are otherwise at their optimal health to undergo surgery. Prospective recipients must attend an in-depth class and participate in a thorough physical evaluation conducted by the center’s multidisciplinary team. UMC may also require additional testing to ensure individuals are healthy prior to surgery. The average recipient at the UMC Center for Transplantation spends only six to eight months on a waiting list before receiving a kidney transplant.
Most kidney transplant recipients are younger than 70, although it is possible for older patients to undergo transplant surgery. It is important for prospective recipients to maintain their health through preventative care, including necessary dental work, colonoscopies and mammograms. Recipients must also understand that they cannot smoke, as the harmful habit increases the risk of infections.
The services provided by UMC allow local patients to stay in their own homes and be near their families and support systems during the months following surgery. After kidney transplant surgery, recipients typically stay at UMC for four days and recipients require a full year of close follow-up care, including visits to the local clinic for the first few months. Recipients also need assistance from a caregiver — typically a family member — for two to three months following surgery to provide transportation to appointments, manage a complex medication regimen and assist with other tasks. It is important to note that these patients must take immunosuppressant medications throughout their lives to prevent their bodies from rejecting a donated kidney.
The UMC Center for Transplantation also provides options for living donors, including laparoscopic kidney removal, a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery. Living donation, the transplant of a kidney from a living donor to a transplant patient, often helps patients reach the goal of receiving a transplant sooner, instead of remaining on the waiting list. Living donors are seen in the same clinic as recipients and have access to the same level of care. Living donors are usually released from the hospital two to three days after a laparoscopic kidney removal. In most cases, the recipient’s insurance covers the cost of care.
The UMC transplant team includes specialized staff from numerous disciplines, including surgeons, nephrologists, pharmacists, dieticians, social workers, registered nurse coordinators and assistants. The center itself was chosen as one of three centers to serve as a beta test site for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s new TransNet tracking system, which uses barcode scanning in an effort to reduce errors and improve the process for packaging, labeling and tracking organs.
UMC uses state-of-the-art technology and the industry’s best practices to ensure local kidney transplant patients have access to the highest level of care before, during and after transplantation. For more information about the UMC Center for Transplantation, please visit www.umcsn.com/transplant.