Kidney Transplant
People who suffer from kidney failure face a future of regular dialysis. A kidney transplant may offer a dialysis-free life.
Every year, about 750 people are diagnosed with kidney failure in Singapore, and close to 500 patients with end-stage kidney failure are currently waiting for a transplant.
Thankfully, kidneys can be donated by living donors, giving people waiting for a kidney transplant new hope. The kidneys are one of only two major organs that can be donated by living donors. If you want to know more about donating your kidney, go to:
www.liveon.sg
How our programme can help you
If you’re diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure, it means that both your kidneys are no longer able to help your body remove waste products and excess water. Your doctor will discuss the treatment options available to you, including different types of dialysis or a kidney transplant. Not everyone with kidney failure is suitable to undergo a transplant.
If you’re suitable to receive a transplant, your kidney transplant team will discuss with you which type of transplant (whether the kidney is donated by a living or deceased donor) is the best option. From a medical point of view, doctors prefer to work with you to identify a living kidney donor rather than wait for a kidney from the national deceased donor pool. Living donor kidney transplants have longer survival rates and usually involve fewer complications. More than 95% of living donor transplant kidneys continue to function well even after five years. Getting a kidney from a living donor also means that you may not have to start on dialysis, but can proceed straight to a transplant.
A living donor can be a close relative, your spouse or child, a friend or even an individual who doesn’t know you, but wants to help (known as an altruistic donor).
The other option is to wait for a kidney from a deceased donor. If your doctor feels that this is the right choice for you, you’ll be added to the National Transplant Registry System after starting dialysis. When a suitable donor is identified, you’ll be admitted to hospital to undergo the transplant surgery. On average, transplant patients in Singapore here have to wait 8 years for a deceased donor kidney to become available.
While you wait for your transplant surgery, the transplant team will help you to stay in the best possible physical condition so that your body can better accept the new organ, whether it is from a living or deceased donor.
Your transplant team will continue to look after you, even after your transplant has been completed. You’ll also have to take anti-rejection medications for the rest of your life to prevent your body from rejecting the new kidney.
Achievements
To date, Singapore General Hospital has performed more than 1,200 kidney transplants.
The Singapore General Hospital Kidney Transplant Programme was set up in 1970 when the first kidney transplant was done. The first living donor kidney transplant was done in 1976.
In 2009, after the age cap for deceased donors was lifted, the kidney transplant team at Singapore General Hospital successfully transplanted two kidneys from a 62-year-old donor into a 54-year-old woman who was on dialysis.
Singapore General Hospital’s Kidney Transplant Programme currently cares for 825 transplant recipients and 170 living kidney donors. Read more about the
clinical outcomes of kidney transplants at Singapore General Hospital.
For more information on kidney transplants
Contact
Lu York Moi or Janice Ho
Transplant Resource Centre
Block 4 Level 2, Room C28
Department of Renal Medicine
Transplant Section
Singapore General Hospital
Outram Road
Singapore 169608
| Email |
: |
kidney.transplant@sgh.com.sg |
| Living donor transplant |
: |
(65) 6321 3511 |
| Deceased donor transplant |
: |
(65) 6326 5476 |
| Post-transplant related issues |
: |
(65) 6321 4661 |