Kidney Transplant Preparation Program

Miller Children’s has a leading pediatric kidney transplant preparation program. The renal team manages and coordinates every aspect of a child’s care from confirming diagnosis to treatment leading up to transplant. Miller Children’s doesn’t perform transplants on-site, but is still a partner in the child’s care with the hospital, to which the patient is referred.

A highly-skilled team works to provide complete multi-disciplinary care for pediatric kidney transplant patients as young as 1 year of age and children under 18. The renal team at Miller Children’s personalizes each child’s care to ensure the child and the parent understand, and are comfortable with, the care provided from the very first visit.

Preparation for transplant depends on the type of donor, the age of the child and other health factors. Before the procedure, Miller Children’s ensures the child and family understand as much as possible about the process. The Miller Children’s renal care team holds a pre-evaluation session with the patient before working with organizations that handle the organ donation process. Once the patient and family understands the process, the renal team collaborates with a transplant center that specializes in pediatric transplant to set an appointment.

Every child’s recovery time is different, but generally general anesthesia is used for all procedures and recovery from the transplant procedure at the referred hospital is around five to seven days. After transplant, the transplant team at the referred hospital will provide the immediate follow-up care to ensure there are no complications associated with the transplant.

The renal team at Miller Children’s stays in contact with the referring hospitals transplant team to ensure a continuum of care. Usually, two follow-up appointments will occur weekly for one month after transplant and then the number of visits is reduced depending on the child’s needs and recovery rate. Sometimes, the patient may return back to Miller Children’s for follow-up care once the referred hospital transplant team clear them to do so.