The hospital stay after surgery is usually 3-5 days for recipients of both living-donor and deceased-donor kidneys. While the transplant procedure is much the same for both, differences in hospital stays relate to how readily transplanted kidney start working.
Our recipients are typically up and walking the first day after surgery, drinking water, and starting post-transplant education in their private hospital rooms. Recipients start eating regular diets 2 days after surgery, and continue education sessions with our transplant pharmacist and transplant coordinators. They may also take a shower 2 days after surgery.
If their transplanted kidneys are functioning well and they feel good, recipients may go home as early as 3 days after surgery. They continue to see us in the transplant clinic weekly and continue to have regular lab draws close to home twice a week for the first few months, so that we can monitor their kidney function closely. The transplant team keeps in close contact with our patients after transplant. We are always available and can be reached at any time.
Post transplant medication education
