How is kidney transplant surgery performed?

There are many different ways that a kidney can be transplanted. The surgical team caring for you will explain their preferred technique, and which would be best for you. Most of the time, a single kidney is placed into either the right or left groin (lower abdomen).

How it works

How kidneys are connected

You have a right and left kidney, which are connected to your body via arteries (red) and veins (blue). They are also joined to your bladder.

Kidneys in close up

This is a close up of a pair of kidneys. The cross section shows how the kidney artery (red) and kidney vein (blue) spread across the kidney. The yellow tube is the ureter, which connects the kidneys to your bladder.

Connecting a donor kidney

The donor kidney is transplanted alongside your own kidneys, and connected at these three points – the kidney artery, kidney vein and ureter.

Close up of a transplanted kidney

This shows a transplanted kidney and its different connection points. The stent inside the ureter helps the join heal and is removed several weeks after the surgery.

Some things that might happen during your kidney transplant surgery