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If you are on dialysis and looking forward to undergoing a kidney transplant in the near future, it is important to familiarise yourself with what to expect.

According to Dr. Frank Asiimwe, the outgoing President of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU), not every kidney patient is eligible for transplant. Some people are too old.

“Beyond 65 years, you cannot have a kidney transplant, it would be a wasted kidney because you are left with a few years to die. For one to get it at that age you must really qualify for it because in most cases we prefer the donor to be young around 25 years, so we cannot allow a 25-year-old to put their life on hold,” Dr. Asiimwe said.

Dr Asiimwe made the remarks on Tuesday during the second Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU) landscape exhibition held at Kololo Independence Grounds.

Last year in December, a team of Ugandan and Indian surgeons successfully conducted the country’s first kidney transplant at Mulago Hospital and Dr. Asiimwe was the led surgeon.

A kidney transplant is the most effective and best treatment option for patients with chronic kidney disease. When you get a transplant, a healthy kidney is placed inside your body to do the work your own kidneys can no longer do. The healthy kidney can come from someone who has died and chosen to donate known as a deceased donor or from someone who has two healthy kidneys and chooses to donate one known as a living donor.

Speaking to New Vision, Dr Asiimwe also revealed that if you have other diseases like diabetes, heart conditions, or cancers you cannot undergo a kidney transplant. For you to qualify, you must not be mentally sick.

“We have over 300 kidney patients who require dialysis and eventually transplant waiting. The reason why the number has increased is because we are improving our diagnostics, if you cannot diagnose, you cannot give the statistics. These days there is also availability of care, the number of those who get kidney failure and not dying has increased,” he revealed.

A successful kidney transplant can allow you to live longer and to live the kind of life you were living before you got kidney disease. Studies show that people with kidney transplants live longer than those who remain on dialysis.