Kidney transplant often comes as a last resort when an individual already has "end stage renal disease" and cannot bear the increasing cost of two-weekly dialyses.Such a person would have suffered chronically from recurrent facial and body swelling, and oliguria and will be in a metabollic disarray.
Planning a kidney transplant involves finding a nearly perfect match who is willing to donate a kidney. Afterwards, the cost of the surgery is estimated based on available parameters and a date is fixed for the surgery. Mind you, both parties (donor and recipient) would have been screened to ensure that they have no contraindications to transplant.
The surgeries will be carried out simultaneously as the kidney has a minimal time they can spend outside the human body. Both parties should have at least two consultant physicians, anaesthetists and a consultant surgeon may be enough to carry out both surgeries to be assisted by senior registrars, registrars, nurses and other health workers. The team is often headed by the surgeon.
After the surgery, both parties are intensely monitored to ensure they survive the procedure and the recipient may have to be on life-long steroid to prevent graft rejection.