Kidney Transplant

Do You Need a Kidney Transplant?

When you have kidney disease, treatments may help prevent further damage to your kidneys. If you have a severe or long-term condition that permanently damages your kidneys — such as diabetes or high blood pressure — you may progress to kidney failure that requires dialysis. Kidney transplantation at University Health could allow you to stop dialysis and lead to a better quality of life.

How to Get Transplant Care

Choose University Health for high-quality care when your primary care physician or kidney specialist (nephrologist) recommends transplantation as your best treatment option. Your doctor will start the process by reviewing our patient criteria and referral process to get you into our kidney transplant program. You also can make an appointment without a doctor’s referral.

Benefits of Kidney Transplant

Expect positive health effects from a kidney transplant, including:

• Increased life expectancy compared to dialysis
• Enhanced quality of life through improved health and energy
• Regained sense of independence

Types of Kidney Transplants

We perform the following types of kidney transplants:

• Deceased donor – Your new kidney comes from a deceased donor as it becomes available through the national computerized waiting list known as United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
• Living donor – Your new kidney comes from a living donor you know, like a family member or friend, or possibly someone you do not know. You may be able to receive a kidney transplant more quickly through our living-donor kidney transplant program.
• Living donor, paired donor exchange.

Transplant Process

Your transplant patient journey at University Health will be similar to the following:

• Have your first visit to the Transplant Institute
• Undergo evaluation and testing to determine if you are a candidate for a transplant
• Find out if you are an approved candidate for kidney transplant
• Consider a living kidney donation
• Join the kidney transplant waiting list
• Have kidney transplant surgery
• Recover after transplant surgery and receive follow-up care

Leaders in Kidney Transplant

Since 1985, our team has performed more than 3,000 kidney transplants, including combined kidney-pancreas transplants and living-donor kidney transplants.

In addition to our transplant team’s experience, University Health Transplant Institute is the only transplant center in South Texas offering robotic surgery for living kidney donation — making us a leader in kidney transplants.

High-Quality, Recognized Kidney Care

Patients undergoing our transplant care will benefit from our team’s strong history of research, education, innovation, medical expertise and surgical excellence.

Review our transplant quality and recognition information that shows our program has high-quality care and is a designated Center of Excellence by the following health plans and organizations:

• Aetna
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
• LifeTrac
• Optum Health

Top Patient Survival Rate in South Texas

Our commitment to our patients goes far beyond surgery. We provide comprehensive, long-term care to help patients and their new kidneys thrive for years to come.

Our kidney transplant program consistently achieves outstanding patient survival rates according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Our outcomes are regularly reported by the SRTR, and you can view our data on the organization's website.

UT Health San Antonio Partnership

In partnership with UT Health San Antonio, our deep expertise, years of experience, devotion to patient-centered care and dedication to research makes us a leader in kidney transplants. We perform transplants for children and adults.