| HOME | ||
| Patient Resources | The Program of Care | Our Commitment to Excellence |
| Patient Handbooks | The Evaluation Process | Milestones |
| Links | Waiting for an Organ | Research |
| Costs of Transplant | The Transplant Procedure | Staff |
| After the Transplant | Program Statistics | |
Kidney Transplantation
The Transplant Procedure
The renal transplant surgical procedure takes approximately 4 hours to perform. The recipient's own (native) kidneys are left in place and the new kidney is placed in the front of the body (in the lower portion of the abdomen, either on the right or left, near the hip bone).
The blood vessels from the new kidney connect to the iliac vein and artery and the ureter connects to the bladder. After surgery, most patients move directly back to the transplant unit (located at UVa’s Health System on the 5-West nursing unit).