Kidney transplant vs Kidney dialysis

Hey everyone

Just some notes on the advantages and disadvantages of both transplants and dialysis.

Hope they help!

Please comment and rate below, thanks :)

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Kidney transplant

Advantages;

  • The recipient can lead a normal life.
  • It is cheaper per year than dialysis.
  • You do not have to be as careful with food.

Disadvantages;

  • The new kidney might be rejected by your body.
  • There might not be a new kidney available at the time.
  • You might need to be on medication every day for the rest of your life.
  • You have more of a risk of catching diseases because, to prevent rejection, some patients are given tablets called immunosupressants which lower your immune system to reduce risk of rejection.
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Dialysis

Advantages;

  • It is more widely available than transplants.
  • There is no risk of rejection.

Disadvantages;

  • Larger risk of infection to the actual kidney.
  • It takes several hourly appointments a week which means you have to plan your life around it.
  • You are hooked up to a machine which means that if you wanted to go on holiday you would need to stay somewhere where there were dialysis clinics.
  • It doesn't cure the problem so you will be on dialysis the whole of your life.
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