Kidney Transplant FAQs

Reasons for a Kidney Transplant

The kidneys are organs responsible for filtering waste from the blood, which is then ejected as urine. A number of medical conditions can hamper the kidneys’ ability to function, causing harmful levels of waste build-up in the body. End-stage renal disease (A.K.A kidney failure) occurs when the kidneys lose 90% of their normal ability to function. Common causes of kidney disease are:

Diabetes
Chronic high blood-pressure
Inflammation and scarring of the filter mechanisms within the kidneys – called chronic glomerulonephritis
Damage from excessive cysts on the kidneys – called polycystic kidney disease

If the kidneys fail, their function needs to be replicated to keep the body healthy. This can be achieved artificially with a process called dialysis – where the blood is regularly pumped through an external filter and then back into the body – or it can be achieved naturally by replacing the failed kidneys with a transplant.

How Many?

In 2024, there were 1,204 kidney transplants performed in Pennsylvania, 52.6% of the total number of organ transplants performed in PA that same year and 4.3% of the 27,759 kidney transplants performed nationally that same year.

Nationally, kidney transplants comprised 57.7% of all single organ transplants performed in 2024, making it the most common single transplant procedure by far.¹

Survivability Rates

Kidney transplants have the highest 1-year survivability rate in the US. For a deceased donor transplant, the 2023 1-year survival rate was 96.57%. For transplants involving a living-donor, the 1-year survival rate jumped to 98.9%.²

Average Time on Waiting List

Unfortunately, despite – or perhaps because of – being the most common type of organ transplant, kidney transplant patients also spend the most time on the transplant waitlist by far, averaging 5 years to receive a kidney.³ This more than doubles the second longest average wait time – the average 2 year wait for a pancreas.

Average Cost

Kidney transplants are the least expensive single organ transplant procedure, averaging approximately 447,000 dollars billed per procedure in the US as of 2025.⁴

The cost of the individual procedure is not the whole picture, however. Prescription drug costs are also a major factor in overall financial burden. Transplant patients require lifelong immunosuppressant prescriptions in order to prevent their immune system from rejecting the donor organ. These medications can be costly depending on insurance coverage.

Travel costs are also a factor. There are only so many transplant centers in the United States, so prolonged travel is not uncommon for transplant patients receiving care, especially for rural patients, who already struggle with healthcare access.

Risks

Aside from the usual risks of major surgeries, kidney transplants incur several risk:

Organ Rejection – The body has an adverse reaction to the donor organ
Primary Graft Failure – The donor kidney fails to function
Recursion of damage – the transplant only replaces the damaged kidney, it doesn’t necessarily address the underlying cause of the original damage, leaving open the possibility that the damage may reoccur
Infection or cancer – either may be transferred to the organ recipient if they are present in the donated organ. Donated organs are screened for infections and cancers, but screenings are not infallible.
Medication side effects – Immunosuppressants needed to prevent organ rejection can cause kidney damage and increase the risk of infection and other medical issues

Barriers to Transplantation

Practically speaking, there are only so many kidneys available at any given time, and the supply is generally much lower than demand, which increases wait times. 27,759 kidney transplants were performed nationally in 2024, but over 47,000 kidney transplant candidates were added to the waitlist that same year.⁵ This is fairly consistent pattern; from 2020 to 2025, the average number of annual kidney transplants for the fiscal year was 21,672, but the average annual increase in waiting list candidates for the same period was 37,882.⁶ Waitlist additions are outpacing transplants, unfortunately.

How Can I Help?

The biggest barriers to transplantation are cost and supply. You can help address these issues by:

In the case of kidney donation, there’s also the possibility of being a living donor. Only one functioning kidney is necessary for a healthy life, so especially generous individuals can save a life without jeopardizing their health. Living donation also increases the benefits to the recipient, improving the rate of survivability, reducing the rate of graft failure, and potentially reducing wait time.