Where Can I Find More Information on Kidney Transplants?

The National Kidney Foundation has a wide variety of information and also many brochures that can be printed off or ordered in bulk for your facility. On the Web site:

  1. A-Z Health Guide. You can search by the first letter of the topic you’re interested in, and a full list of topics.
  2. Brochures. Find a list of brochures that can be printed off or ordered in bulk for your facility.
  3. Under Organ Donation & Transplantation, you will find additional topics such as Organ Donation, Living Donation, Transplant Games, Advocacy and links to the NKF’s Transplant Recipients’ TransAction Council and Donor Family Council.
  4. Also under Organ Donation & Transplantation is Transplant Recipients, click on the links for the various resources. There is a gold mine of information on topics such as financial resources, prescription help, life insurance, clinical studies and seeking education, training and employment.

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Transplant LivingSM Site

www.transplantliving.org

This site includes a list of questions for patients to ask the transplant team before, during and after the transplant, and discusses getting on the transplant waiting list. You can also search for support groups by state.

A Patient's Guide to Kidney Transplant Surgery
Presented by the USC Kidney Transplant Program

www.usckidneytransplant.org/patientguide/

An easy-to-read, step-by-step guide to kidney transplantation was developed by the University of Southern California (USC) and has great pictures.

International Transplant Nurses Society

www.itns.org

On the International Transplant Nurses Society Web site, you can print off the 92-page “A Guide to Your Health Care After Kidney Transplantation,” which includes a very useful glossary of terms. The entire guide is available in Spanish and also includes information on pancreas transplant. The site has similar guides to heart and liver transplants, also available in Spanish.

Click on Transplant Patient Educational Materials under Education and you will see a list of all the booklets and brochures that are available.

Medicare Coverage

For more information on Medicare D (and B) go to www.kidneydrugcoverage.org

American Association of Kidney Patients

www.aakp.org

The American Association of Kidney Patients is another site with useful information.

  1. Click on Transplant Information
  2. Under Tests, click on Kidney Transplant to print off a list of “Ten Tips for a Successful Kidney Transplant”
  3. Under Tests, click on More Info to read “Make Me a Perfect Match: Understanding Transplant Compatibility,” a more detailed description of how kidneys are matched.

Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients

www.ustransplant.org

The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients is a national database of statistics on all the transplant centers in the country. On the Web site:

  1. Click on Information for Patients & Families
  2. Click on Transplant Program-Specific Reports
  3. Click on the state you live in
  4. Click on Kidney or Kidney-Pancreas Centers
  5. Click on any of the centers you are interested in

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)

www.unos.org

The home page for UNOS has an updated list of how many people are on the waiting list for solid organs.

U.S.Department of Health and Human Services’ OrganDonor.Gov

www.organdonor.gov

This site provides access to U.S. Government information on Organ & Tissue Donation and Transplantation. Some of the topics are:

  1. Be an Organ and Tissue Donor
  2. Donation Basics
  3. Transplantation Basics
  4. Reduce the Risk for Needing a Transplant

Medicare’s Dialysis Facility Compare Tool

www.medicare.gov

To find information on your dialysis center, visit Medicare’s Web site, scroll down to the bottom, and click on Compare Dialysis Facilities in Your Area, listed under Search Tools.

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Networks

www.esrdnetworks.org

There are 18 End Stage Renal Disease Networks.  You can find your closest network on the home page by clicking on the area of the map you live in.
ESRD Network 4 has a “Preparing for a Kidney Transplant/Frequently Asked Questions” tool that is helpful. It can be accessed at esrdnetwork4.org, under Patient Resources.