Kidney transplantation is the surgical placement of a healthy kidney, from either a deceased or a living donor, into a patient with end-stage kidney failure, restoring the filtering function the patient's own kidneys can no longer perform. Surgeon Joseph Murray performed the first successful kidney transplant in Boston in 1954, between identical twins Ronald and Richard Herrick, a case that avoided the problem of organ rejection because the donor and recipient were genetically identical; Murray received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 for this and related transplantation work. Transplants between non-identical donors and recipients require the recipient to take immunosuppressive drugs for the life of the transplanted kidney to prevent the immune system from rejecting it, and kidney transplantation is now the preferred treatment for suitable patients with end-stage renal disease over long-term dialysis.
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Kidney transplantation is a standard treatment for end-stage renal failure caused by polycystic kidney disease.
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1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationKidney transplantation - History section
The first truly successful transplant of this kind occurred in 1954 in Boston. The Boston transplantation, performed on 23 December 1954 at Brigham Hospital, was performed by Joseph Murray, J. Hartwell Harrison, John P. Merrill, and others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_transplantation, lead section
Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD).
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the first successful kidney transplant done between identical twins?
Because identical twins avoid organ rejection; other donors require lifelong immunosuppressive drugs.
The first successful kidney transplant, performed by Joseph Murray in Boston in 1954, was between identical twins Ronald and Richard Herrick. Because donor and recipient were genetically identical, the problem of organ rejection did not arise. Transplants between non-identical donors and recipients require the recipient to take immunosuppressive drugs for the life of the transplanted kidney to prevent rejection.
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